What Comes Next
by MusingAIR
Summary: The Pharaoh still hasn't regain his full memory, from a tragic accident that occurred in the pass to the heart break of his beloved. He will have to venture back into the world of the living, accompany with his friends from 5000 years ago to finally put all the pieces together and to understand his hearts true desire. AtemxMana. IsisxMahad.
1. Entering the Afterlife

**Ok so this is a story of what comes next after the series...**

**First off before you all start commenting about how it's been down a thousand and one times, just wait till there is more and you will get my drift...**

**Feel free to criticize all you want, even if it is pure flames, I want to know your opinion about the writing style and grammar, plus if you feel the need to point out that the characters may be OOC go ahead. My goal is to keep them in character.**

**This story will contain Vaseshipping, there will be absolutely no gay pairings in this fic...**

**So last but not least; I do not own YUGIOH...**

**Oh one last thing please be ever so kind to call me AIR!**

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ATEM's POV

White light surrounded me, I could hardly believe that my life in the world of the living had ended. I could remember the exact day that Yugi had completed the puzzle and of which the darkness that was released from the hidden chambers. Though if I was being honest with myself I was slightly nervous with what was to come and if my friends from five thousand years ago would still be able to recognize the person that I had become.

The light started to fade away and I was beginning to regret my decision to leave behind Yugi and his friends. What if the afterlife wasn't what I was made to believe.

My concerns were quickly forgotten, when I felt a small form jump on me.

"Prince!"

"Mana,it's so good to see you again." I said, trying to regain my balance. She was giving me a full body embrace and the impact carried more force then I would have imagine possible.

"It's been to long and the afterlife has been so dull without you here..."

I was positive that she could have continue, but Mahad decided to interfere.

"Mana, thats not the way to treat the Pharaoh," he objected, but I could see him trying to fight off a smile.

Mana swiftly jumped off; giving me a sly smile that I didn't understand, and I felt a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't comprehend. For a few minutes, I lost the ability to think straight.

She turned around and gave Mahad an innocent smile, "relax, will ya."

"Mahad,it's great to see you again." I directed my attention towards my second oldest friend.

"The same to you Pharaoh," he said giving me a small bow.

I gave a small roll of my eyes, it was good to see that a few things would never change. "Mahad you not need to be so formal."

"Give it up Atem, he will never listen," Mana said with a smirk on her lips. She reached out and grabbed my hand with hers. It felt so natural, but for some unknown reason to me it made my blood rush in my veins. I was beginning to get frustrated with the confusing feelings that were coursing through my body.

"Mana..." Mahad started to say.

"Don't you Mana me Mahad, just come of it will ya." Mana said, stick her tongue out at him. Seeing those two bickering was surprisingly comfortable.

"It's nice to see something's will never change no matter how many years pass."

"Like what?"

I turned around in the direction that the voices were coming from and that was when I notice that we had an audience.

"Shada, Karim, it been to long." At the mentions of their names each Priest knelt before me. Isis, Seto and Shimon silently followed suit.

"Isis," I greeted, gripping her hand and helping her stand up straight." It's wonderful seeing you again."

She gave me a small smile. "My Pharaoh, I can gladly say the feeling is mutual."

"My King," Seto said sternly, "Egypt has long waited for your arrival." To everybody's surprise he had a small smile.

"Seto,I have been waiting for this day far longer then I would have ever dream of." I confessed giving Karim and Shada a small nod of acknowledgement as a greeting. They knew that I would most likely cornered them later and demand an explanation for their previous comments.

Finally Shimon, which he immediately started lecturing Mana and me for showing affection in public. This only made her grip on my hand tighten, as well as that I had a strange feeling that it wasn't the first time we had heard this particular lecture. Though I instantly shook those feelings off.

"Shimon, relax there is nobody here but us." I said soothingly. "Could you let it go for one day?"

With that, he cave and before I knew it Mana was wrapping her arms around me again. Molding herself into me; I smiled and held her, very content with the idea. But somehow I was able to ignore my body's responds from her being so close. The only thing that had me worry was Mahad's expression, he was worry about something.

A hand gripped my arm, "my Pharaoh, I must discuss some important matters with Mana and you, in private." Mahad hissed under his breath, he said it so quietly that I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly. I was curious with what could be the matter, so I looked at him and gave the slightest nod that the other Priest didn't think twice about. However Mana was looking between Mahad and me, and she gave me a questioning look. She was as clueless as I was, or that was what I thought.

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**So that's it, please review and I will update as soon as I can!**


	2. Not My Story to Tell

**Alright people chapter two is here. Though I am a little sad by the few who actually reviewed and to who did thank you. To guest, iPad was there because my iPad is an idiot, so please forgive me.**

**silverfrost101, thanks for following.**

**Aqua girl 007 and Darksinseaia, merci for favoriting.**

**So enjoy, oh and I don't own YUGIOH :(**

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Atem's POV

"Alright Mahad, what is going on?" I said sternly once the three of us were sitting in one of the many private rooms of the palace. It was great to see them again; and it surprised me how much I had missed Mana.

"Pharaoh, I beg of you to answer this question as honestly as possible, before I continue." Mahad stated, and he was annoyingly avoiding my gaze. I looked plainly at Mahad; it was obvious that I was curious, but by the way that he had said that made me a tad nervous.

Mahad took our silence as a sign to continue. "How much of your past do you truly remember?"

I gave a sigh of resignation. "Mahad, unfortunately I don't remember much. I can recall everything that happen from the day of Bakura's attack onwards and a few childhood memories."

Without being aware of it, Mana had let go of my hand. A low cry escaping her lips and the expression she wore tore through my heart.

"Mana is something wrong?" I asked, turning my eyes toward her. Hoping they reflected the concern and fondness I felt towards her, not knowing the greater damage that it would cause.

She turned towards Mahad avoiding my gaze. It hurt me more than I care to admit that she couldn't meet my gaze.

"Is there anyway?" She asked Mahad vaguely. Amazingly, he understood what Mana was talking about.

"No Mana, without-" Mahad began, but apparently she already knew what he was going to say. So without another word, she stood up and the left the room.

I sat there, confuse and annoyed with Mahad and Mana. Their exchange was so abstract that I knew I was missing half of the conversation.

"Mahad?" I simply stated.

Mahad let a small sigh out. "It is not my story to tell, Pharaoh, though Mana carries the guilt of the events of that dreadful night." I gave him a questioning look. "I say this and only this," Mahad continued. "By an unfortunate turn of events, Mana was in a position to either save her friends and Egypt or to let the world perish in darkness." With that, he stood up and started to walk out the room. When he got to the door, he paused. "If you wish to know the full story, go ask Mana. I truly do not feel comfortable discussing this, please forgive me, Pharaoh."

"It is alright Mahad; and I understand you respecting Mana's privacy." I murmured, deep in thought of what in the name of Ra, could have happened to the Priest and Mana after my death. Mahad bowed and silently left the room.

I sat in the room, with my mind as my only companion. I thought about the why Mana had greeted me and how my body responded to her every touch. It was a puzzle that was missing several key pieces; those being my memories. However, the thing that kept popping out in my head was the look that Mana had in her eyes when I told her that I couldn't remember my pass, for some reason it made me hate myself.

I stood up and started to leave the room, not sure of what I was to do next. The logical thing would be to go find Mana and talk to her, but something in me was worry that what she had to say would only lead into another adventure and I wasn't ready to put more people I cared about into new types of danger.

...

It had been nearly an hour since my conversation with Mahad and Mana, and I couldn't find either of the two. I looked in their rooms, the studies, the library, the throne room, dining hall, kitchen, etc. Now I was merely roaming the halls hoping to see if I were to get lucky, with that thought in mind I headed over to the Plum Garden.

When I arrived there, I saw the last person I expected, Mana. She sat underneath a tree with her head in her hands. I noticed that she was trembling and that soft sobs where coming from her direction. I realized that she was still crying over, whatever Mahad and her had been referring to earlier.

I took in a deep breath bracing myself for what was to come, and at that moment wishing Yugi was here. He was better at dealing with emotions and showing empathy then I was. I walked over to where she was and sat next to her, putting my hand on her shoulder hopping to provide some comfort.

It took her a few minutes, but even when she stopped crying. She still didn't lift her head of her hands and to look at me.

"Mana, I wish to understand why you feel this. What happen 5000 years ago that makes you feel so guilty?" I asked softly, having lost what little patience I had left for the events of today.

She stayed quiet, not making any indication that she had heard me. "Mana, please!" I groaned out, not believing that I was near the point to begging. What was it about her that I felt comfortable enough to let my usual walls down? At that moment I felt her start shaking again and was a tad afraid that she was about to start crying again.

Just when I was starting to debate if I should just leave her alone for awhile before I started asking questions, she lifted her head. And what I saw took me by surprise, she was laughing and I bet it was at me.

"Patience has never been one of your virtues, Atem." Mana said, after she was able to calm her self down enough to talk. I didn't respond, I opted to just look at her with an annoyed expression and fortunately she got the message. "Ok, I'll tell you just promise to not say anything till I finish."

Not waiting for my responds, she started her tale.

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**Hop you enjoyed it and please review, it be of great help to know what you guys think.**

**Oh, I also want to know what you all think about lemons, and if I should add them in later chapter. If not then it won't come to such things, but it will still be pretty descriptive in the romance department. This fic while having a plot and other things, it will be be focused in the fluff.**


	3. Mana's Tale

**Hey ya people, I am starting to get depress with the amount of reviews, but lets not dewell on that. To the ones who have, thank you. I would also like to thank, Aqua girl 007, for being my beta on this story and if not without her I don't know how accurate my history would be.**

**New info to take into account while you read:**

** - if you see the following — **Ma'at **then look before the authors note to see the back ground of that God.**

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Mana's tale (POV)

'After you sealed your soul, the kingdom started to get back on its feet, the palace was rebuilt, people started to move on...well, some of us tried to. The word spread throughout the land about what occurred here. As predicted, our most bold enemies decided to make a move against the kingdom. Luckily, Seto had started to make plans to secure the kingdom.

'While all of this was going on, I was deep in my studies looking into the spell you had performed. I didn't speak to anybody and I barely left my room. I was determine to actually do something right, for once.

'I also began to study the necklace you gave me before your death. I am sure it wasn't in your memory world, as it was protected by simpler magic. I realized that it was the vessel to your memories. You sealed away every last event of your life in that simple oval shaped, glass necklace and you gave it to me to protect.

'I decided to keep it all a secret. I knew that if I told the Priests and especially Seto, they would want to take it out of my possession. I came to the conclusion that as long as nobody but me knew about it, then I would be able to keep it safe. The necklace was always around my neck, I never took it off.

'So as our enemies planned and spies were being discover throughout the palace, I guarded the necklace. One day I found out, by accident, that if I thought of something specifically the necklace would show me one of your memories. The accident happened in this very garden, I think I was thinking about the day Mahad got bitten by the snake. I hoped that nobody had seen what I did and that I was truly alone in the garden. After that day, I was careful of what I thought about you.

'Unfortunately, my luck had run out. One of the spies of a distant kingdom had also seen what happen and was even showed that piece of memory. Later, we learned that it was one of the few guards that had survived the attack of Zorc and had a very well informed understanding of the Millennium Items, plus of the magic we practice.

'During the time that the guard left and our enemies were knocking on our door, I was able to complete my apprenticeship and pass the trials to become a Priest. I also became the wielder of the Millennium Ring. As the months passed, the kingdom was starting to lose the paranoia of an upcoming attack, even Seto, but boy how we were mistaking.

'Fourteen months after the attack, our enemies had arrived. The enemy came in boats and since we didn't have all the Priests; the Millennium Eye, Scale, Key were without wielder. A few months back, we realized that without the Millennium Pendent, the others magic weren't as strong. So as the enemy invaded the land and we focused our attention on them, the guard had been quietly stealing the Millennium Items from there resting place, that were hidden in different places throughout the kingdom. It wasn't until he was planning into going into your tomb looking for the Pendent that the Necklace decided to show Isis what was going on.

'That's where it all went down. Two miles from the tomb, Seto, Isis and I, were there waiting for him. What we didn't expect was that he was being accompanied by the Nubain's King and the army. They quickly over powered us, but I used Dark Magician Girl to escape. As I stood in front of the entrance, they decided to use Isis and Seto as ransom to get me to submit and to hand over my Millennium Ring plus the glass Necklace you had given me.

'I knew then that he had seen and knew what the necklace was about...

_Flashback, outside Atem's Tomb_

_"Give me the glass necklace." The guard barked out, he was looking at me as though I was __Apophis__._

_"Turkem, how could you have done this?! You've been a palace guard since me and the late Pharaoh were kids!" I yelled back, guarding the tomb as if I was __Anubis__. Dark Magician Girl was by my side ready to attack any who tried to attack me or to slash the necks of Seto and Isis._

_"You and your demonic Pharaoh cost me everything when the demon, his father, let lose attacked the palace. My wife and sons died that night." He spit every word out at me._

_"We all lost people that night!" I shouted, not believing that those words were actually coming out of my mouth. Isis and Seto were both gazing at the floor thinking about our friends and their loves ones that had given up their lives for us._

_"You deserve what you and the other Priests got!" He shouted back._

_I was going to respond, but it seemed that the King had lost his patience with us. "Stop being so stubborn girl, if you want your Pharaoh to live hand me the necklace that contains the secrets to the magic you wield."_

_I immediately denied it, hopping that neither Seto nor Isis understood the deeper meaning to his word. "No such thing exists; those secrets have been buried away with our late Pharaoh."_

_"Idiotic girl, do you really thing I can be easily fooled? I've studied the past of your land and what you are able to do, like summoning that demon that is next to you." That made dark magician girl mad, I almost had to physically hold her back from attacking the idiotic man. "So hand over the glass necklace." That at last made Isis and Seto look at me with curiosity. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one that noticed this._

_"Oh, so the young Priest, the young Mana hasn't told you what that small glass necklace that rests between her breasts truly is, what it truly represents?" The traitor guard rhetorically asked them. He turned towards me and asked me with a sneer on his face. "So dear, should I or should you tell your trusted friends of the secret you and the nameless Pharaoh hide while he was with the living?"_

_I couldn't believe it after many months of healing my broken heart. I'm being made to relive and confess the secret that Atem and I shared, though I decided to leave some of the truth out. I told them what I knew of the glass necklace._

_"This glass necklace was a gift from the late Pharaoh," I began, taking off the glass necklace. It was the first time in fourteen months that it left the warmth of my neck. "At first, I thought it was just a gift. Then, he sealed away his soul, whipping away his memories. I knew then that this necklace was more than a token of gratitude or friendship, so I looked into it and one day by accident I discovered that it was the vessel of where he hid all his memories." At this Isis gasped and Seto was looking at me as if I was the little girl he had meet ten years ago playing with a young Atem. The little respect that I had gain with him was quickly lost._

_"So the secrets, do reside in that little piece of glass?" the Nubain said, probably saying his thoughts out loud. "Hand it over little girl, if not you will watch your friends die."_

_Seto had at last decided to make his opinion known. "Mana, don't be idiotic! He will kill us either way! Run away and keep that necklace save, it is the hope of the world that the darkness remains locked away!"_

_The soldier that was behind Seto pulled his head back with a harsh yank telling him to shut up._

_I tried to think of what Atem would do in this situation. I knew he would never leave his friends behind, and I simply couldn't do that. I looked at the glass necklace, having barely formulated a plan. I then turned my attention to Dark Magician Girl who was looking at our enemies with pure hatred gleaming out of her eyes. She turned her stare at me with a sad look in them, she knew what I was about to do and knowing that part of the seal was my beating heart and that if I moved into the world of the dead the memories would scatter throughout the world of the living._

_"Isis is your Winged Dragon near?" I asked, hopping she got what I wanted to say and that the guard wouldn't be informed about the name of her guardian Ka._

_She gave me a slight nod. "Mana there is another way-"_

_"No there isn't!" I interrupted before she was able to give away more. "Just do it quick! And after the magic scatters, Seto summon the White Dragon."_

_I knew that with the confusion that was to come they would be able to overcome the Nubain King, but my death was necessary for the knowledge that was sealed away to remain that way._

_The guard was slowly starting to figure out what we were talking about, as well as Seto who for a split second his eyes showed me the sadness that this would cost him._

_"Now, Isis!" I yelled out to her. Before anybody could stop her, she gave the command that ended my life._

_"Winged Dragon of the Fortress, kill Mana!" Isis yelled, being the last words I heard before leaving the world of the living._

_End of Flashback_

'I sacrificed my life to keep the seal unbroken and for the secrets to remain hidden, but with the death of my heart beat, your memories were scattered throughout the world. I had not been able to find a way to seal the magic you had invoked into creating that necklace. I know that if I had been a better magician like Mahad, I would have been able to do it.

'That is way I failed you yet again, Atem. You gave me yet again something to protect and I just couldn't do it. So I know you will never be able to forgive me, but yet here I sit asking for your forgiveness, yet again for my inability to complete a task to assign to me.'

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Anubis— dog or jackal God of embalming and tomb-caretaker who watches over the dead.

Apophis— evil serpent of the Underworld, enemy of Ra and formed from a length of Neith's spit during her creation of the world

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**Hop you guys enjoyed this chapter and yet again I ask for you to review, telling me what you think of this fic. I want to know what you guys think about lemons and how the relationship between mana and atem is. **


	4. Convicing the Priests

**So people here is chapter IV, though I am barely getting any reviews. So thanks to those who have, I enjoy reading your feedback of the story.**

**In this chapter you will see more interaction between the characters.**

**I have also decided that this fic will not contain lemons, I prefer to leave the rating as it is and I will post another story that will be take-out scenes of this fic. It will be rated M.**

**I'll like to thank Yatemugirl1 and Streetkillz13 for following.**

**Oh , and I Dont own yugioh, sadly T-T**

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Atem's POV

I sat there stun of what Mana had just told me. She gave up her life to protect her friends and my memories and for some reason that I can't comprehend she was feeling guilty about it. Even to the point that she was asking for my forgiveness.

"Mana, you do not have my forgiveness." I started to say and she bowed her head in submission. I couldn't see her like that; I was the one that should be bowing down to the brave woman in front of me. I put my finger underneath her chin and forced her to look me in the eye. "Let me finish, you do not have my forgiveness because there is no reason as to why you have to ask for it. You did everything in your power to protect the people you cared about, you even were prepare to lay down your life to protect my memories. So is I who has to ask forgiveness and to say thank you."

I let go of her chin and stood up and gave her a bow, showing the depths of my gratitude towards her and all that she has down for me.

When I stood up straight and met her eyes they reflected something that made my heart sore through the clouds, I just wished that for the life of Nut I knew the name of the emotion.

"Atem, I wish there was a way. It just seems so unfair to me that you've done so much for us and the world. You deserve to know your past." Mana said the last part, looking at the floor. I had the feeling that she was hiding something, but I decided to wait until she was ready to tell me. I wasn't going to push her again.

"Mana, we will find a way. You said they were scattered when your heart stopped beating?" She gave me a small nod, so I continued. "Then we have to return to the world of the living."

"That is easier said than done, Atem. We are going to have to convince Mahad and the other Priests to go along with this. As well figure what spell will have to invoke." She said, giving me a small smile.

"I vote for finding the Priests first, I'm sure Mahad will know that spell you are referring to." I said, deep in thought. "I really don't feel like doing research, or do you?"

"Still avoiding your studies Atem," Mana said to me with a smirk. "But, yeah, I agree. Though where do you think Mahad is hiding?"

I shrugged, indicating that I had no clue.

We started laughing, realizing how much we had to do. "Come on let's go look for the Priests."

Mana and I stood up and left the garden, both of us were lost in our thought. I realized that I had just gotten to this world and yet here I was making plans to return to the world of the living. I was going to see Yugi and the gang again, that was surely going to surprise them.

...

30 Minutes Later, in the Throne Room with Mana and the Priests

"Pharaoh, it goes against every law of the realms for the dead to return to the living." It was the fifth time Shimon had said that to us. Mana was standing next to me, keeping her expression neutral. After we left the garden, we had looked for the Priests, without much success. So out of frustration, we came into the Throne Room and Mana decided to call them by giving one hell of a scream. They all arrived in record time.

Just before they had entered the room, we decided that if we could do this, we didn't want to tell the Priests the reason that we wished to return to the land of the living.

"But it can be done, right Mahad?"

Mahad had been staring at me and Mana for the past fifteen minutes, I was certain that he had guess the reason for us wanting to take this journey.

"It can be done Pharaoh." He stated. Shimon was giving him a deathly glare. He mostly likely wished that Mahad had told us the opposite. "Though it is quiet complicate, but Atem, Mana, tell them the reason why you wanna do this."

I looked at Mana. "We are going to try to recuperate the glass necklace." She said looking at Mahad.

"Mana the necklace shattered when you died." Isis said to her in a belittling tone. "They were lost that day."

"No they weren't." Mana said plainly.

Isis gave her a confuse look, she was about to tell Mana that she was wrong, but Mahad decided to elaborate on what Mana had stated.

"What dear Mana means, is that what broke that day was the seal not the actual enchantment." Mahad said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Hum, Mahad, what does that mean to those of us that fell asleep during 'Different Types of Magic'?" Karim said, scratching the back of his head.

Surprisingly, before Mahad could answer him, Seto did but with annoyance coloring his voice. "It's simple Karim, the memories exist but the power that held them in a form of a necklace has vanished. Am I correct Mahad?"

Mahad was glaring at him; he didn't like it when people interrupted him. However, to avoid a fight with Seto, he gave a stiff nod.

"So there is a way to regain my memories?" I asked Mahad carefully, hopping that I had heard him.

"Yes Pharaoh there is, but what worries me is the seal."

"What is so important of this seal, can't we go to world of the living do a spell and retrieve them." Shada asked us, looking between Mana, Mahad and me.

This time the one that answered this time was Mana. "The seal was made with simple magic, but strong and unfortunately with the years that magic was forgotten. All that we can hope for is that the purpose of the seal will re-ignite when we enter that world." There was a hope in her eyes that gave me hope that everything would turnout alright. I just wish that I knew what she was hoping for.

"Alright since you are determining to go down with this, we have to prepare. The first question, who is going to go?" Everybody turned around and faced Isis with incredulous looks written upon our faces. "What?! I don't sense the need to keep arguing about this point and the Pharaoh has a right to want to know his past. And we has his Priests should support him and protect him during his time in the living."

Every Priest now had a serious look on his face, including Mana. After a few seconds Mahad spoke up. "Isis is right, of course, so luckily for Mana and Atem I know what spell will take us through the realms. It's just, are you preparing to revive the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games?" He was looking directly at me, I just wished for the life of me how were the Items connected to this whole ordeal.

Mahad most have guessed, the reason for my silence and everybody else's, for that matter, because he explained in a tired voice. "The darkness was locked away with you entering the afterlife, Pharaoh. If you leave the lock will be open, the Millennium Items will be the only things that will provide us with a body and sustain us with life in that realm."

"In simpler terms, for us to enter the realm of the living, then we most release the darkness," I murmured. "I cannot release that evil upon the world again, so if that is the only way. Then, no, I prefer to live without knowing my past."

Mana was giving me a sad smile. "We'll find a way, Prince." She vowed to me, knowing that I wouldn't put the world in danger for my own personal gain while her eyes still carried an empty light. After a while she looked down deep in thought.

"Wow, Mahad why didn't you say that from the beginning? It would have saved us some time." Karim stated in a dry tone. He was annoyed that nothing had come from the last two hours that we had been gathered in the Throne Room. "I mean all this drama about a seal. Heck, in my opinion, seals are the reason why we all have suffered, and the initial seal being the one that locked away the Pharaoh's soul in the Pendent."

I realized that he was just rambling his thoughts because, he hated the complexity of working with magic. I suspected that was the reason he focused in combat then in the many levels or arts of magic that the rest of us learned.

During Karim's rambling, Mana had stopped looking at the floor and excitement was coloring her face. "Wait," she nearly yelled. "What if there is a way to lock the darkness away somewhere, once it is realized. Obviously this would only be temporarily while we are in the realm."

"It's a good idea, but no place is powerful and secure enough that it would be able to hold the darkness." I stated, not wanting to bring her heart down.

She simply shrugged, I should have known that she would come up with something crazier than the situation we were in. "Perhaps not a place, but our own souls." She said, smirking in my direction. I was about to ask her if she had gone completely mad, however Mahad beat me to the point.

"Mana, that might actually work! Though it's going to be risky." Mahad said in a thoughtful tone, but if I wasn't mistaken there was also approval in his voice.

"What? Mahad you can't be considering it." Seto nearly screeched. "It can't be done."

"Yes, it can, the Pharaoh did it 5000 years ago." Mana said smugly.

"That's true, but I nearly lost my sanity, in the process." I said tiredly, we were going around in circles.

The girl was still smiling, "true, but this time the darkness won't have only one vessel. And I would think that for the length of a few months we could handle it." She made a valid point and while I might pretend that I could live without knowing, curiosity was slowly getting the better of me. There was only one thing holding me back. "Mana, I could never ask you guys to take such a risk and I would never let you do it for that matter."

"One have I ever not done what I am not suppose to do, and two ask the other Priests on this I am sure they agree with me, you are not doing this alone." I started smiling, here Mana stood in front of me, stating her point clear and her intentions, yet she was as firm as a king leading his troops into war.

I looked at the Priests still hoping that Mana would be wrong about them.

"She speaks the truth, Pharaoh. I'm not going to let you do this alone, you're not only my king but also one of my oldest friends." Mahad stated simply smiling at Mana for her boldness.

Isis stood next to Mahad. "I'll follow you anywhere, my king. She said though she had been looking at Mahad.

"If you really going to do it, you need someone you can count in winning a fight." Seto said smugly.

"You need someone to keep Mr. Ego in check, so count me in." Karim said, smiling at Seto.

Shada was slowly shaking his head, "I'm in. I'm the only one that hasn't lost all their marbles."

I looked at my friends, and I thought about Joey, Tristan, Tea and Yugi, and just like them I knew I could always count with Mana, Mahad, Seto, Karim, Shada and Isis.

I gave a bow of my head, not believing for one second that I deserved their loyalty. I straighten up and looked each one in their eyes. "Alright then, so back to the question who is staying and who's going?"

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Nut— Goddess of heaven and the sky – mother of many deities as well as the sun, the moon, and the stars.

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**Hey guys that is it, big cliffhanger right, next chapter will include yugi.**

**I'll like to thank again for the tenth time Aqua girl 007 for being my beta.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Realm of the Living

**So here is Chapter V and I hope you enjoy. This chapter will finally take us to the world of the living. So to those who have reviewed thank you and to Marlen2445 for following this fic.**

**So, now ending this author's note I put the disclaimer**

**I unfortunately I don't own YUGIOH.**

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3rd Person POV

They all stood there, looking at the Pharaoh and waiting for what he was going to say. "Mahad, since you know what will happen with the spell, who do you advise to stay?"

"I think it best that Seto and Shada stay here and provide comfort, while keeping an eye out for the people of Egypt." He said in a level tone, looking at Seto waiting for the upcoming protests.

Seto didn't disappoint. "Are you crazy?! It makes no sense that I stay here! I will be of much greater use with the Pharaoh in the realm of the living."

Atem walked up next to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "He makes a valid point, Seto. The people of Egypt can't be without a King and you are the only one I trust with that responsibility."

"As well as you and Shada will be our anchor in this realm, without you our souls will drift into the shadow realm once the spell is undone." This time it was Mahad that patted Seto on the arm.

"Obviously, I will be going." Mana said smilingly. She was glad that no one could argue with her over that point. Atem gave her a reluctant nod of the head, wishing there was another way of doing this without involving her.

"As will I," Mahad said unnecessarily.

Isis looked around the room. This was the only life she had ever known; and she had never seen the world past the Egyptian sands. The thought made her nervous but for reason only known to her she decided to go with them. "Since the Millennium Items exist then, you guys are going to need the guidance of the Millennium Necklace."

Before Karim could answer, Shimon spoke up. "Priest Karim, I would like to beg of you to stay with us here to balance out the power and to help Seto maintain control." Shimon said holding up his hand, preventing Seto from interrupting. Karim gave a low bow to viszer, knowing that it would be disgraceful to decline his request no matter how much he wanted to.

"As you wish, Master Shimon, I will stay here." He said, looking at Atem and gave him a bow, silently asking for forgiveness. Atem only shook his head, hating all the formalities.

"Alright then, so Atem, Mana, Isis, and I will be entering the realm of the living and Seto, Karim and Shada will stay here keeping an eye on things, and being our anchor into this world." Mahad said, nodding in the direction of each person. "Now, will everyone follow me and get into a circle? Mana and Atem will you join me in the center?"

They walked over to the middle of the room, standing in sort of pentagon shape with Atem, Mahad and Mana in the center.

"Very well, Pharaoh, Mana, the darkness shall be lock away within us since we will be casting the spell. Mana once the power of the items resurfaces, call forth your Ka. They'll protect us through the tunnels of the realms. After the spell is complete, we will be consumed in darkness and transported to the next realm."

Everybody nodded, not being able to think past the darkness they were intentionally reviving.

"Just remember," Mahad continued. "The Pharaoh must first invoke the Ma'at, and then Mana will ask Aken, assistance in crossing the barriers that separate our worlds. Following that, we will recite the enchantment and pray to the Gods that they grant us passage."

With nothing left to say, they stood there looking at one another, preparing for what was to come.

"Mahad, Mana, ready?" Atem asked them, his eyes resting on Mana face. Mana and Mahad nodded in response.

After a few more moments, Atem began the spell, "By the name of the Pharaoh, Atem, I invoke Ma'at, to grant us passage from this world to the next."

In the strongest voice that Mana could muster, she followed. "I ask Aken, to show us the way through the tunnels that separate the realms."

Mahah began, once Mana finished with her part. "Ma'at, I beg thy to protect the Pharaoh and his Priests, grant us your power and the burden they carry, seal their darkness within the walls of our souls."

"We open the door, so the Games are release, reviving our hearts, providing us life. As long as we hold an item, our bodies shall exist." The three of them said, feeling the nergy coursing through them and into the air around them.

A small glow shone from a top of their heads, it began to take form into the seven Millennium Items. Slowly, they started to descend and head towards their bearer, the Rod headed straight to Seto, the Necklace warped itself around Isis's neck, the Scales flew towards Karim and the Ankh towards Shada. The Pendent, Ring and Eye stayed afloat over the heads of the caster. While this was occurring, the three casters repeated the spell.

The instance that Mana and Mahad began to feel the power surge, they summoned their Ka. A flash of light occurred before the Dark Magician Girl and the Dark Magician stood next to their master. The Dark Magician Girl saw Atem and gave him a warm smile, but with one look at Mana she became serious once again.

Atem was repeating the spell for the six time when he felt the lock that held the Darkness break.

"Mahad, now!" He yelled, not wanting the darkness to escape.

"As the lock is broken, darkness is released into the world of the living. As our souls pass the barriers, let them be the home to that darkness and protect the souls of the innocent." Mahad recited, the light intensified around the Pendent, Ring and Eye. Mana buckled over in pain, she wasn't used to the pain that binding her soul brought to it. Atem had the sudden urge to go to her, but as soon as the pain began it stopped and Mana gave Atem a shy smile, telling him she was okay.

The three items fell into the hands of each caster, and to everybody's surprise the Eye fell into Mana's hand. She looked at it with disgust, there was no way she was sacrificing her eye. She closed her hand around it, ignoring the rush of power it granted her.

Isis walked over to the casters, giving one last look at her surrounding, she was nervous, though Isis would never admit it. This was the only life, only world, she knew; and she was about to leave it all and enter a modern world she knew nothing about.

Isis reached the group and grabbed Mahad's hand, giving him a nod telling him she was ready to leave. Mahad finished up the spell. "Bat, transport our souls from this world to the next." He yelled out the last four words.

Darkness descended around the four, swallowing them whole. The other Priests was tempted to run towards their Pharaoh and friends, but they understood their duties and what they were suppose to do.

As the magic faded and the last essence of their friends dissipated, the remaining Priests wished their friend luck and hoped that they would return home soon.

...

WITH MANA, ISIS, MAHAD AND ATEM

They were surrounded by darkness; it was as if they had enter the Shadow Realm. They felt nothing around them. On pure impulse, Mana grabbed Atem's hand. He had always been her safety line and she wanted to feel the comfort only he could provide her.

Time passed, they didn't know if it was months, second, or years. They only knew that the four of them were together and hopefully safe from any hidden dangers. Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl were tense looking everywhere and seeing nothing, they hated this feeling of nothing less.

At last, from who knows how long the darkness started to fade.

As the darkness around them faded, Atem started to wonder where they would land in the living realm. Before he could voice his concerns, he felt something pull on his sendyt.

"Mister, why are you dress like that?" A girl no older than six years old asked.

"Um..." That was when Atem noticed where they were. The four of them were standing in the middle of a park, wearing only their Egyptian garments.

Mahad, Mana and Isis were openly staring at everything; it reminded him that all this was completely new to them. While those three were still in shock, Atem knelt down and look at her kindly in the eyes. "We come from a far off land, where such things as jeans don't exist."

The girl gave him a look, clearly stating that she thought that he was mad. Somewhere during answering the girl, Mana had lost some of her initial shock. "What the Ptah are you doing?" Mana asked softly. Atem just shrugged, Mana leaned down. "Sweetie, where are we?"

The little girl looked at Mana with the same incredulous look she had given Atem. "You're in West-Side Park, Domino, Japan." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing.

Atem stared at her not believing how close they were to Yugi's house. He stood up and looked at Mahad and Isis. They were looking at him, waiting for him to decide their next course of action.

Mana bid the girl good-bye and turned around to face Atem. She felt her Dark Magician Girl change position, making sure no one snuck up on them. "Mana, Mahad call back your Ka. We don't want to draw more attention." They both nodded, doing the small spell that sent back their Ka to the Realm of the Beast.

"Good, we are a few blocks from Yugi's home. He was my human vessel when I was here last time. If we go there it will provide us a place to rest for a while, though I don't want to involve him, especially with the darkness and the Millennium Items. I don't want to worry him. There we will discuss what to do next and were to go." Atem finished, he noticed that Mana was looking at the Eye. She closed her hand around it and look at him with a warm smile.

"I think it would be smart to also look for a change of clothes, we stick out like a sore thumb." Mana said, smirking at Mahad.

"Yes, we will figure that out when we are there, plus we will discuss the matter of the Millennium Eye." Atem said, now he was smirking at Mana, while she shot him a glare. "As well, do me a favor, as we walk the streets don't ask me what everything thing is, I'll tell you when we aren't in such a rush." Atem said before the other three simply nodded.

They started to make their way through the park. There were few people there, it was just the occasional little kid that would stop running and stare at them. As they left the park, Mana, Mahad, and Isis's eyes widen. The skyscraper, the cars, the metal city, it was spectacular but it wasn't their home. The Egyptians felt a bang of homesickness.

"Come on, guys! Stop looking so star struck. The game-shop is this way." Atem chuckled. Isis stared at her Pharaoh, she had never seen him so relax, so open.

They walk pass buildings, homes, stores and the sun had begun to set o when they arrived at the game-shop. "Remember no mentioning of the darkness that resides in our souls, understood?" Atem said before he knocked on the door.

They waited a few minutes; they heard the voices of Solomon and Yugi through the door.

"Yugi, are you expecting anybody at this late hour?"

"No Grandpa, perhaps it for you." He said, chuckling.

"Huh, you don't believe it could be for me?" Solomon barked undignified. Atem imagined that Yugi shook his head. Solomon humped, "Go answer the door."

"Why? you're closer?" Yugi whined. Mahad turned towards the Pharaoh, this kid reminded him of his friend from when he was barely five summers old.

"Perhaps, but my poor hold ba—"

"Alright, alright, I'll get it." Yugi interrupted him.

They heard him walk towards the door. He was muttering curses at his Grandpa or at whoever was knocking at this late hour. As Yugi opened the door, he started saying. "We're not interested in..." Yugi trailed of realizing who was standing in front of him.

"Hey, partner, good to see you again." Atem said grinning, enjoying the shock expression that was on Yugi's face.

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Ma'at— a Goddess who personified concept of truth, balance, justice, and order – represented as a woman, sitting or standing, holding a sceptre in one hand and an ankh in the other – thought to have created order out of the primal chaos and was responsible for maintaining the order of the universe and all of its inhabitants, to prevent a return to chaos.

Aken— Ferryman to the underworld.

Bat— represented the cosmos and the essence of the soul (Ba), cow Goddess who gave authority to the king, cult originated in Hu and persisted widely until absorbed as an aspect of Hathor after the eleventh dynasty; associated with the sistrum and the ankh.

sendyt— is a garment which was made of cloth and was worn around the waist, typically extending to above the knees.

Ptah— a creator deity, also God of craft.

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**Ok that's that, they are in the world of the living. So tell me guys how long should I wait till the romance gets heavy. And the next chap will be really funny and hits of their past plus the love Mana has for Atem will be shone. So if you want review. See you guys later. Merci!**


	6. Shocking Yugi

**Here is chapter VI, sorry it took me a day longer, I've got a slit fever so I wasn't I the mood to write or edit. Thank you, Aqua girl 007 for being my beta.**

**thank you Khemet-Egyptian Vampire for favoriting and for the people who have reviewed. **

**and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

**I don't own YUGIOH**

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Mana POV

"Yugi, are you ok?" Atem asked the little version of himself. This Yugi kid was in a state of shock that I was a little worry about him.

"Prince, is he ok?" I asked him, he was barely holding in his laughter.

Yugi stared at the four of us. His mouth hung open and his eye were wide open. I believe that he didn't blink for a few moments.

"Yugi, who is at the door?" An old man came up to him. He looked surprisingly a lot like Shimon. The old man looked at us and at Prince and just like Yugi his jaw fell open.

"Shimon, did something go wrong with the spell?" I asked the old man worriedly. That statement brought some of him back.

"Who is this Shimon you are talking about? My name is Solomon." He said, holding himself up straighter.

"Let me explain, Mana; this is Shimon's descend." Atem spoke to me in a hush tone. His breath tickled my ear, it brought back memories of...very...pleasant moments.

I started to blush and looked away, hoping my hair would conceal it. I unintentionally met Mahad's gaze and the idiot gave me a knowing look.

"Yugi are you ok?" The poor kid's Grandpa was starting to get frantic, waving his hand in front of Yugi's face. He was literally on the verge of smacking him.

I recognized the expression Yugi wore; it was the same one that Atem had when I reviled surprising news to him. "That won't work and neither will smacking him. I've dealt with this situation before with Prince." That earned me a curious look from Atem. I wasn't going to tell him anything, it reviled too much and I wanted him to find the love he had for me on his own.

"You have to tell him or do something more shocking." I said, smirking.

A mischievous grin spread out on Atem's face. I have always enjoyed that look and I suspected that I always would.

"Oh, I know just the thing." Atem stated, he walked a few steps towards Yugi and whispered something in his ear.

Atem stepped back, and Yugi was blushing madly. I could only imagine what he said to him. "Pharaoh!" Yugi screamed undignified. Atem and I started chuckling at his expression.

"So Yugi mind inviting us in?" Atem said, smirking at his friend. "It's kind of cold out here and we are not exactly dress for this type of weather."

"Yeah, yeah, come on in." Yugi said, stepping back.

...

We sat in a small room with a long brown soft chair, which I think Atem told me it was called a couch or sofa, and two identical smaller version of it on either side, facing each other. Whatever this chair was rather comfortable.

"Ok, I called the gang here, though I don't get why you want them here." Yugi informed us, he was staring at us with curiosity now. He knew something was up, he just didn't know what.

"We don't want to repeat ourselves, that's all." Atem said with a smile. He was sitting next to me on the couch. Isis and Mahad were leaning against the wall behind us and Yugi sat on the chair to our left.

"Wait could it be?"

"Yeah, right I know that voice."

"But didn't he-"

"Yes he did."

"Just move you idiots!"

After a few seconds of noise coming from the other side of the door, two weird looking guys fell through the door. One had brown hair and the other was blond, they were funny looking guys though they weren't bad looking either.

"Oh my—" The blond one started saying, staring at Atem. The brown hair one had the same expression on his face, yet again stun into silence comes into mind.

"You guys always ma—" When the girl saw Atem, she let the sentence hang. She looked at him in wonder; and if I wasn't mistaken, I saw a shine of love in her eyes.

"Atem, but I thought you." The girl started to murmur.

"It's an interesting tale, one that we shall soon share. Just sit down first and let me introduce you to my friends." Atem said looking at the girl, with nothing but kindness in his eyes. At last something brought peace to my heart.

As everybody got settle down and the newcomers got over their shock from seeing Atem, I prepared myself to once again speak of my past failures.

"Alright, let me introduce you to my oldest friends, Mahad and Isis." The two bowed down. "And these are Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi of course." He said, indicating with his hand who was who. "And this is Mana, my oldest and dearest friend." I gave a small bow, covering my face with my hair. I closed my eyes hiding the pain his words brought me, disgracefully a tear slipped out. Before I uncovered my face, I wiped the tear away.

Tea looked at me with curiosity. "So Atem, why are you here, is something the matter?" She began to ask, thank fully Atem shut her up.

"Don't frit Tea we'll tell ya." Atem looked at me, asking me if it was ok for him to tell my story. I gave him a nod, knowing that he would tell it as vaguely as possible.

"Before I sealed my soul away, I sealed my life memories in a small glass necklace and a few years after my demise it was lost. We've come back to see if the magic that sealed the memories could be found. We came to recover them." Atem said the last part looking at me. Could he have remember something? I quickly shook that thought off; it was better no to hope.

"But why didn't we discover any of this when we were in your memory world?" Yugi asked, looking at us with suspicion.

I answered this since Atem wasn't completely sure of the answer. "It was sealed and protected with simpler magic, but stronger." I stated in a monotones tone.

"Do you know what type of magic was used?"

"No!" Mahad responded, "Only the Pharaoh knew."

Isis was looking at me with a serious expression. She knew I knew more then I was telling. However, it didn't matter; I wasn't willing to lose Atem forever. That magic had to come naturally, and who knows perhaps just being in the world of the living will provide him with some of his memories.

"So what is your plan and how can we help?" The blond hair kid, I think his name was Joey asked.

Atem's eyes harden; he didn't want to risk the lives of this people. "First we need a change of clothes. So Tea, I was hoping you would show Mana some fashion magazines for her to conjure up an outfit, as well as for Isis." The Tea girl nodded, she just wouldn't stop staring at Atem. It was annoying. "Mahad and I won't be such a problem in that matter, and Yugi," Atem turned to face his partner. "Do you have a closet or small empty room we could use?"

Yugi gave Atem a confuse look, no doubt wondering why the Prince would make such a strange request. "I'm not sure, but after you guys change we could look around."

We nodded. I hated to admit it, but I was curious to find out what a 'magazine' was.

"Ok so Mana you will change first. Yugi is it alright if she uses your room?"

The kid just shrugged.

"I'll go get the magazines, wait for me upstairs and I'll explain the basics to you."

As Tea left the room, I looked at Atem, not believing that I was here and with him.

"Solomon, I know this is your house, so before we go any further. May I inquire, that, is it ok that we stay here in your home?" I heard Atem ask the old man.

"Please, Grandpa." Yugi begged his grandfather quietly.

"Of course," Solomon said, smiling at his grandson, "Though I do have some conditions. First, call me Grandpa, all of you. Second, everyone has to help out." He looked directly at Yugi."Third, you are all require to go to school, I don't want to have trouble with the government."

"Prince what's school?" I asked, feeling out of the loop.

"It's a place where kids go to learn about thing they will need for life."

"Oh." It was depressing thought to think that we would be getting lessons again.

"Yes, Mana and don't thing you are getting out of your lessons." Mahad said.

"But, Mahad-"

"No Mana and don't worry you won't be alone, Pharaoh will be joining you." Mahad interrupted my rant, giving me a firm look.

"What?!" Atem exclaimed, he must have at least some memories of those hideous boring hours that we spend being torture

Mahad realized that we had an audience and gave us a stern look. We understood that this conversation wasn't finish.

The others were looking at us as if we had grown a second head in the last two minutes.

Not wanting to be stared at, I decided to go up stairs and wait for Tea.

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**there you go, hope you enjoyed it and if you did REVIEW.**


	7. Flashes of Mana

**Recuperating from my fever, I finished Chapter VII,, Yippie. ^-^ **

**thanks to those who have reviewed your feeddback has been of great help.**

**In this chap we will see more fluff, so if you dont like, then dont read, you are in the wrong fic anyway.**

**School is beating the shit out of me, teachers made it their life mission to give us work and not let us have any free time. Luckly next week is my Speing Break, :), so i will be updating as often as possible, while im not doing HW.. *KILL ME KNOW* **

**So enough of my rambling, I dont own YUGIOH and enjoy!**

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Atem's POV

I watched Mana leave the room, thinking back to the little memories I had. All I could recall of Mana was that she was fun, spirited, brave, loyal, yet the person I saw had burdens that I could never imagine.

"So who is that?" Tristan asked me with a smirk.

"You moron, she's the Dark Magician Girl." Joey stated, smacking him on the back of his head.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know that. I was asking the Pharaoh if they were together or something."

"Oh," Joey said, turning his gaze towards me. "So, are you?"

Tristan smiled evilly at me.

I noticed that Isis and Mahad were looking at me, waiting for my answer.

"I know her since my childhood. I also know that she became a priest after my death." I looked down at my hands." I can't tell you more than that. The rest must have been sealed away in the glass necklace."

Tea entered the room; she looked around, probably looking to see if Mana had gone upstairs or not.

"She's in Yugi's room."

Tea nodded giving me a look that I had long ago learned to ignore. I knew that she had a crush on me, but I also knew that Yugi had strong feelings for her. Even if that wasn't true, I just didn't feel the same way. I felt as though my heart wasn't mine to give away.

After a few more seconds, she nodded and left to follow Mana upstairs.

"You are Yugi, right?" Mahad asked Yugi. Yugi gave him a small nod.

"Do you have somewhere where the Pharaoh and I can change? I wouldn't suggest waiting for Mana; she might as well take all night." He said loud enough that I'm sure Mana heard him; she must have been too distracted by what Tea was telling here to give him notice, though.

"Yes there is a small bathroom in the hall to your left."

Mahad and I stood up. I entered the bathroom first, tempted to hit something for the frustration I felt towards myself and the sealing of my memories. No matter what I did I just couldn't get my body to relax. And now every time I looked at Mana, I felt as though I was forgetting something major and for some reason she wouldn't tell me what it is. She knew more than what she was telling me, and I hated that she was keeping a secret from me.

I quickly thought up of a plain outfit and murmured the spell that Mahad had shown me during our walk over from the park.

I also hated that I could barely remember how to cast a simple spell. I agreed with Mahad over the lessons, I just hoped that they weren't as boring and dull as I vaguely remembered.

_Flashback_

_Mana and I were sitting in the reading room; Mahad was a few desks away, reading a papyrus about some complex spell._

"_I'm dying here, Prince," Mana quietly complained._

_She was about nine summers old in that time. I suspected I was barely a summer older then her._

"_So am I, but what can we do about it."_

_She smiled mischievously. "We can sneak out."_

_I gave her a level look._

"_Mana, there are at least five guards watching us, making sure we don't sneak out; not even you are that good."_

"_Whatever, then you think of something. I'm going crazy here." She said exasperated, making a dramatic scene of throwing up her arms and hitting her heads on the table._

_I suppressed a laugh. Mana could always make me laugh, by the way she acted. It was so free and open; she never worried how people saw her and admittedly I was a tad envious of that._

_While she looked around, making sure she hadn't attracted Mahad attention. I started grinning._

_Mana turned towards me and silently asked why I was grinning._

"_Well we can't escape, but we can have some fun in here."_

_It only took Mana a second until she realized what I was talking about. The smiled that spread out on her face would have made Kuk proud._

"_So we are going to prank, Mahad?" She asked me, staring in the direction that Mahad was._

_It wasn't necessary for me to answer; we sat there deep in thought of what we were going to do to our teacher._

_End of Flashback_

I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the memory. My hands were supporting my weight against the sink.

I looked at myself in the mirror, asking Ra what the hell had just happen.

Before I exited the bathroom, I made sure I was decent. I had conjured up a simple outfit that consisted of a black tank top and dark blue jeans, with classic black boots.

As I exited the bathroom, I ran into Mahad. I had forgotten he was waiting for me.

"Are you okay, Pharaoh? You look a little disorientated."

Barely acknowledging what he said, I nodded and kept on walking thinking about what I had just seen.

As I entered the living room, the conversation dropped.

"Pharaoh, is something the matter?" Yugi asked.

I was barely aware of him or anybody else in that matter. I was lost in my thoughts.

After a few minutes of silence, the gang returned to their conversation, though Isis and Yugi kept on giving me concern looks once in a while.

"Hey Tea, how is Mana?" Joey asked, louder than usual, he most likely was trying to break me out of my trance.

Fortunately for him, he succeeded. At the mention of Mana's name, I was automatically aware, listening to every detail of their conversation.

"She's fine; she is looking at the magazines, though I envy her the ability to just produce an outfit from thin air."

"Don't, our power are as much a gift as they are a burden." Isis stated, looking at the four with a stern gaze.

"Oh, I didn't mean any disrespect; it's just…"

"It's alright, you didn't know."

We sat in an uncomfortable silence after that, waiting for Mana to come down.

"Khara!" We all heard being screamed from upstairs.

I jumped up, startled and filled with worry; thinking the worse. I ran up the stairs two at a time.

I decided not to knock and just barged through the door, stopping dead in my tracks.

Mana was dressed in only modern day undergarments, in a strapless brown bra and matching lace underwear. Her curves were completely visible and her body was in full display.

When I looked at her face, she had a coy smile. "Prince is everything alright?"

"Y… yeah, just wanted t…to make sure y…you were aa…alright." I stuttered out not being able to remove my eye from her body.

"Everything is fine, I just screamed out of frustration. I can't decide on anything that feels like me."

Mana walked around the room going absently through magazines, not at all bothered from me staring at her.

I was starting to get an awkward reaction from my body; I felt my temperature rise and my face started to redden, not believing the thoughts that were going through my mind.

"Ok… I'm going now." I turned and as I was closing the door, I heard a small chuckle coming from her direction.

The others were standing near the stairs; I realized that Mahad had come out from the bathroom.

Yugi being the observant kid, I knew he was noticed my red face.

"Pharaoh, are you blushing?"

And like usual Joey and Tristan didn't miss a beat.

"Oh! What happened over there?" Joey asked me; hitting my ribs with his elbow.

"Nothing," I murmured walking past them, not wanting them to see how truly red my face was.

As I walked to living room all I could think of was how Mana had looked with only her underwear and bra on.

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Kuk- the personification of darkness that often took the form of a frog-headed God, whose consort or female form was the snake-headed Kauket

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**So there you go chapter 7, hope you enjoy it and i know short**

**and like always, though im starting to sound like a broken record, REVIEW.**


	8. Egyptian Corridor

**Here you are people chapter VIII; hope you enjoy it and thank you to the people who have reviewed in the last chapter thank you.**

**Hope you all have fab spring break**

**And without further or ado the disclaimer: I DON'T OWN YUGIOH :( !**

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3rd Person POV

After a few minutes from Atem's interruption, Mana decided to wear a cute jean shorts with a three quarter sleeve, V neck blue shirt. She was quite enjoying herself at that point, especially from seeing Prince's expression from seeing her so expose. It truly didn't bother her, she was confident when it came to her looks.

Mana walked down the stairs where there seemed to be a stare down going on between Prince and the blond hair kid.

She walked over to where Isis and Mahad were standing, taking in Mahad's new look.

"That's an interesting look on you, Mahad." Mana teased him.

"Not another word Mana," Mahad warned her with his infamous glare. She wasn't sure how many times she had been on the receiving side.

"Fine, I just wanted to say you looked nice." She said innocently. "Oh, Isis, the room is all yours."

"Thank you Mana," Isis replied, starting to make her way out of the room.

Before she reached the stairs, Mana grabbed her arm. "Change into something that will make Mahad stutter, please."

"Mana!" Isis cried out undignified, though her face was a little pink.

Mana, glad that she got the reaction she had been looking for, ran back to the others, laughing.

At the sound of Mana's laughter, Atem lost his concentration and turned to look at her. His eyes widen seeing her in the outfit, it was so innocent yet he was able to see where her curves were and everything.

Atem stared at Mana, lost in his thoughts and tried as he might he just couldn't push them back.

Mana smiled shyly at him, though she might not mind being looked at, his gaze was so intense that it felt as though he was seeing the darkest corners of her soul.

Who knows how long they were like that, it wasn't until somebody cleared their throat mockingly that broke up the tension.

"Alright then," Mahad began, looking at the pair with suspicion. The priest always knew that there was more than friendship between the two, but he just didn't realized what had truly happened 5000 years ago.

"Yugi if you would be so kind mind showing us that spare room or closet?"

"Sure, though I don't get why you want to see it."

Mahad just shrugged, stranding up and followed him out of the room.

"Why does Mahad want a small room?" Joey asked, likely his head was in the gutter as usual.

Mana stood up and gave Joey an annoyed look. "If you follow us perhaps you will find out." With that she left the room, they all looked at one another not believing her change in attitude.

After a few seconds, they all stood up and went in the direction the other had. When they got to the small closet, Mahad was murmuring something to Mana, she had as serious expression on her face and she was expecting the space around them.

Mana waved Atem over to them. "We have to cast a spell that will expand this space into one where we can habit. Mahad vaguely remembers the spell, usually one of us could have done it, but since we are all out of practice, he believes that it would be better for us to do it together."

"Okay, so what do we do?" Atem asked her, dying to ask why she had snapped at Joey before.

"Just let your energy flow, recite a small focusing spell, and I'll take of the rest." Mahad instructed them.

They both nodded at him and did what he told them. In a matter of minutes the small closet had transformed into a small hall that had two doors that lead into rooms.

Yugi, Tea, Tristan, and Joey had their eyes wide open, looking everywhere, not believing for one second what was around them.

"Okay, now that's a cool trick." Joey murmured to no one in particular.

"It's no trick, its magic." Atem corrected Joey, walking around, making sure everything was solid.

Mahad was doing the same thing, opening doors and expecting his handy work. The walls of the hall were a pale yellow with hieroglyphics written on them. The floor was simple wood and the doors were made of a heavier and darker wood then the floors.

"Mahad and I will share and Isis and Mana will take the other the room." Atem stated entering his respected room. The room was bare, but with a simple summoning spell, that was the same as the one he used to conjure up his cloth, but differ in the last line. He produced two beds, night stands, torches, and bed sheets and pillows.

The room was lit by five torches that were nailed to the wall. There was a portable oil lamb on each table. The sheets were simple, however they were made out of Egyptian cotton and the pillows were stuffed with goose feathers and cased in silk. The whole room had a very Egyptian feel to it.

Mana entered the room and walked up to Atem. "Nice, though I bet that I can conjure up something better."

"Oh, do you know. If I recall correctly you normally had trouble with your spells." Atem replied mockingly, still looking at what he had come up with.

"That's mean, and I thought you didn't remember anything about me." Mana said, fringing a hurt expression.

Atem chuckled, feeling at complete ease with Mana's banter. "No, I said I didn't remember everything, but I can remember the time you elevated a fish and it smacked you in the face."

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "That was a long time ago. I've improve!"

"Yes, but how long has it been since you practiced?"

Her eyes narrowed, having found the flaw in his teasing. "I could say the same about you."

"Um…" Atem murmured at a loss for words. Mana smirked at him, knowing she had won. A smile broke through Atem's serious expression and when Mana meet his eyes they both burst into laughter.

The gang stood outside in the hall, trying to figure out what the hieroglyphics meant, according to Mahad they foretold the story of two lovers that were forbidden to be together, but wed in secret.

"Ah, that is so romantic." Tea said, wondering what the Pharaoh and Mana were talking about in one of the rooms.

After a few seconds of silence and of staring at the elaborate drawings that were on the walls, they heard uncontrollable laughter coming from the boy's room.

Out of curiosity everybody went over to the door and looked in. There they saw Atem and Mana sitting on one of the beds and laughing.

Mahad smiled, the scene in front of him reminded him of earlier days when their lives were much simpler.

Tea stood there, not believing what she was seeing. She had never seen the Pharaoh so at ease with anybody and acting so openly. For some unexplained reason she hated that Mana was able to bring that side out of him.

When the pair realized that they weren't alone, they calmed down and looked at everybody else.

"We will work on enrolling you guys into school tomorrow and I think for tonight it would be better if we all went to bed." Yugi said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen into the room.

"Yeah, Yugi is right." Joey said, yawning and leaning his weight on Tristan. "I'm beat, tomorrow we have school and if Yugi doesn't mind I am crashing on his couch."

"Yeah Yug', is it all right that we all crash here, tonight. It is too late to head home." Tea added, not looking at Mana and Atem. It slightly bothered her how comfortable they were together.

"Sure, come on guys." Yugi said, slowing leaving the room. "We'll see you tomorrow and get some rest." That was said with a significant look at Atem and Mana.

The four left the Egyptian corridor, with Joey and Tristan chuckling at the rear. They had seen the look that Yugi had shoot the pair. They came to the conclusion that they weren't the only ones that had noticed that there was some buried chemistry between the two friends.

Once they left the room, the Egyptians said their good nights and separated into their respected rooms, hoping that when Ra rose some of the mystery in their lives would clear up.

Mana stayed quiet after she heard Isis enter the room, lying in only her panties and shirt she prayed to Bast to protect her love and to bring him back to her.

* * *

Bast- Goddess, protector of the pharaoh and a solar deity where the sun could be seen shining in her eyes at night, a lioness, domestic cat, cat-bodied or cat-headed woman

* * *

**There you go, you had fluff and more insight into Atem and Mana's past**

**The next chap will contain a flashback and if you have a suggest or if you wish to see a certain moment of their lives just let me know.**

**Au revoir for now…**


	9. Mana On Top

**Hey everybody, here is chapter IX. **

**Thank you toopka33 for following.**

**As well as thank you for everybody that has reviewed.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH... Y.Y**

* * *

Dreams (Flashback) - _**Dream**_

Author's Notes- AN

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

Atem's Inner Thoughts- _Thoughts_

* * *

Atem POV

"_**Mahad, please!" She begged him. **_

_**I was sitting on the stairs, watching Mana plead with Mahad to let her go on her first official hunt. However, Mahad was playing the overprotective brother and wouldn't let her go near a bow.**_

"_**Mana, please explain to me what you don't understand about the word no?" **_

"_**The part of you no letting me!" she practically screeched out. I knew by her tone of voice that she was on the brick of losing it.**_

_**It was usually entertaining to watch them argue, but in this case, the argument was affecting me. I know a little egocentric, but it wasn't always that I got a day to myself.**_

"_**It's too dangerous! And you don't even know how to handle a bow!" Mahad tried to reason with her. I felt pity for the guy, at times it seemed as if he didn't know Mana.**_

"_**You haven't been listening to me!" Mana threw her hands up. "You never do! I already told you that for the past two summers Atem has been teaching!" **_

_**Ah Ra, did she really have to say it like that. I was hoping that I wouldn't be dragged into another of their arguments. **_

"_**Is this true, my Prince?" He turned his glare towards me. He hated it when either Mana or I got into unnecessary danger. Mahad was like our older brother, well not by blood, but by years of friendship. **_

_**I shrugged hoping he wouldn't ask me to elaborate. Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky. He kept on staring at me waiting for me to continue.**_

_**Letting out a sigh, I looked Mana in her eyes. "Yes it is true. She was curious one day and as it seem she had a deadly aim." **_

_**Mana started to grin. She knew that with my support sooner or later Mahad would give in.**_

"_**Prince I do not understand. Why are you so willing to put her in danger?" Mahad asked me, he was grasping at straws. **_

_**I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him.**_

"_**Mahad tell me, how it isn't more dangerous to just let her to her own devices, than to watch her and guide her? You know what she is capable of and you have to stop treating her like a child.**_

"_**Mana has become a skilled huntress and the only to keeping her from that honor is you not giving your consent for her to take the official hunt. And before you say that it isn't costume for a woman to go through such trials, don't you know that won't stop her."**_

_**Mana let out an annoyed sigh. She must have gotten tired of us talking about her as if she wasn't here.**_

"_**Mahad, he has a point and I know I can do this." **_

_**We stayed quiet for a while. Mahad had a serious expression on his face. A few years back he had made a promise that he would protect Mana. Something her biological family had failed to do.**_

_**Mahad walked over to a chair and giving us a stern look he said. "Fin go, but be careful."**_

_**Mana squealed, jumping up and down she hugged her Master. She understood what this was costing him and she also knew that she had been asking a lot. Mahad had always seen her as a sister.**_

"_**Oh and before you two leave. Prince it is ok if I talk to you, in private." Mahad called out.**_

_**Mana and I were about to start a race toward the stables. I gave her repentant look and quietly told her to go on and that I would meet her there.**_

_**I returned to the reading room. Mahad gave me a strange look.**_

"_**Alright, Mahad, what do you want to talk about."**_

"_**Forgive me, my Prince, but I must ask. What is going on between you and Mana?" It was annoying how formal he was, even when we were in private. **_

"_**Sorry Mahad. I don't understand what you are talking about." I said, trying to play dumb. I knew exactly what he meant. **_

"_**Don't play dumb Prince. Anyway, I haven't been the only Priest to notice. You two seem to have grown closer than before.**_

"_**And the others wanted me to remind you that she isn't of your status and if you ever think of doing what your great grandfather did, than remember you are sentencing her to her death."**_

_**I cringed, it was a tale that my father had told me, a warning to not be foolish. **_

"Atem!"

_The dream was starting to shatter around me. I was losing my train of thought and at a subconscious level I knew that the dream was a memory._

"Atem!"

My mind was beginning to wonder back.

"Atem you thick headed idiot, WAKE UP!"

My eyes sprang open.

That's when I saw her. She was on my chest with her knees on either side of it.

"Mana can I help you?" I asked her in a dry voice.

"Yes, you can wake up. It is ten in the morning Atem." She said jokingly.

I looked around Mana and I noticed that Mahad's bed was empty.

"Is it really ten?"

"Well five minutes till ten, but yeah." She half shrugged.

Her weight was carefully balanced out on my chest. She looked perfectly comfortable and if I was honest with myself I was quiet enjoying it. Though, with that thought passing through my head I became uncomfortable.

"Hey, Mana?"

"Yes?"

"Umm….. Mind getting off?"

"Oh… Uh…" She said uncomfortably trying to look at anything, but me. "Sorry," Mana squeaked out.

Mana jumped off me, doing everything in her power to avoid my gaze.

"Uuuhh Prince, Mahad send me to tell you that we should talk about the Millennium Items and the Darkness, while we are alone." She said slowly inching out of the room.

I suppressed the urge to scream at her shy actions. For some strange reason it just didn't feel as though she should act in such way. Especially, in my presence, I felt as though she should be comfortable with me and it irked me that she wasn't.

"Alright I'll be downstairs in a few."

* * *

**There you go people, hope you enjoyed it and that it gave you a better understanding of their pass.**

**You will see a deeper understanding into the tragic love tale.**

**Merci!**


	10. Items and Darkness

**Hey you guys here is chapter X,**

**Whoa, never thought I'd get to this number so fast.**

**Thank you Truesparks for following**

**Thank you, Lluvialpz and Truesparks for favoriting**

**And to all who have reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: I :( DO NOT OWN YUGIOH **

* * *

Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- **_Dream_**

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

Mana's Inner Thoughts- _Thoughts_

* * *

Mana's POV

The three of us waited for Atem to come downstairs. And tried as I might I couldn't forget the feeling of being on top of him. The rush of memories were slightly disorienting, especially the emotions that came with them.

How could I have been so stupid to believe that me jumping on top of his chest wouldn't have any effect on me. His presence alone had an effect on me.

After another few minutes of waiting, Atem decided to grace us with his presence. He looked freshened up, wearing dark blue jeans, leather boots and a plain grey shirt. His Millennium Pendent was hanging from his neck, lazily resting on his hard chest.

Atem walked into the room and gave us an acknowledging look.

"Come on lets go to the family room. It'll be more private and less likely that anybody can sneak up on us." He said not missing a step.

"Good morning to you to Pharaoh." Mahad retorted sarcastically.

... ... ...

"Alright then, now that we are alone for a while, let's talk."

"Yeah, I opt to begin with the Millennium Items." I said, staring disgustedly at the Eye. "I for one am not scarifying my eye for this thing." I waved the damn thing around, wishing that I could throw it into a hole straight to the Underworld.

Atem gave me a small smile, most likely because of my theatrics.

"Mana, that is the way of the Millennium Eye." Isis said to me, in yet again a belittling tone.

It bugged me how she acted towards me. When we were in Egypt she was like my older sister, now she acted as if she were my mother.

"Great Isis, then you can take out your left eye and replace it with this metal crap." I said mockingly. With that said Isis rolled her eyes and settled on giving me a stern look.

"Mana, relax." Atem assured me, putting his hand on my shoulder. He wore a thoughtful expression. "How about you wear it as a necklace?"

"Prince, that sounds like a great idea, but how? This thing doesn't have a loop or anything to past a string through it."

"Give me a few days, I'll figure something out. For now just carry it in a pocket or something. It shall still grant you its power, while you have it on you that is."

I gave him a nod, still glaring at the ball of gold that I held in my hand. Without another thought, I stuffed it in a hidden pocket within my skirt.

"Alright so let's talk about the Darkness and our Magic. Since we entered this realm we have all regained our ability to practice, but it's been a while and we are all out of practice.

"Mana, Pharaoh and I have to restore our ability to summon our Ka. Since we sent them back at the park I haven't been able to sense my Dark Magician. We also have to reconnect with the Items and their powers, especially the Shadow Games. We carry the Darkness, and we cannot let it lose within our souls." Mahad informed us; we were the vessels of the dark power. The power we each learned to control from a young age.

"Pharaoh, Mana and you will be continuing your lessons." Atem and I were both about to let him know our protests, but he continued. "No buts. You two are in no position to complain. Yes, both of you already completed your required training, but it has been 5000 years and neither of you remember how to cast the simplest spells."

"And how come you do?" I asked him, trying to find a hole in his argument.

"Simple, during the past 5000 years, I have been residing in the Realm of the Beasts, sharing my soul with the Dark Magician; never losing complete touch with my powers." He answered smugly, knowing that he was absolutely right.

I resisted the urge to throw one of the pillows at him. I hated it when Mahad was right.

"Fine, we'll talk about a schedule after we figure the rest of the things out." Prince told us looking at me with a small smile. Ra, this was going to be too much like the good old days.

"Now about the glass necklace, Pharaoh-" Isis started, changing the subject.

"Oh that is another thing, you guys must stop calling me Pharaoh, my King or Highness. Please just call me Atem, for we must fit in." Prince interrupted her giving her an apologetic look. I was sure he was secretly grinning. Prince had always hated all those formalities.

We all nodded, I tried my best to hide my smile. _He didn't say anything about me calling him Prince._

"As you say Pha- Atem," Isis gave us a sheepish look. It will take us time to get use to calling him by his name.

Isis continued. "You have got to tell us if you start to have any recollections about the past. Then we might be able to figure out what type of magic you used to seal it."

"Sounds good." He gave her a small nod. A miserable expression crossed his face. I knew that he hated sharing personal facts about himself.

_Prince lay with me in the Ginger Garden. It was a miracle that we had a few hours to ourselves. With Prince's lessons on how to rule Egypt and my apprenticeship in becoming a court Magician finally starting. We barely ever had time to just relax._

"_Prince, is something the matter?" I asked, turning my body to face him._

"_It's nothing." He replied, still loss in thought._

"_Prince something is up and remember you can tell me anything."_

_He gave me a small smile. I usually used that line when he was being stubborn, reminding him that I would always be here for him._

"_Fine, its Shimon."_

"_What about Shimon?" I asked a little annoyed at how mysterious he was at times._

_He sighed, giving me a look that I decided to ignore. "He is complaining that he wishes to know more about me personally so he can choose a compatible woman for me to marry."_

"_Oh," this had always been an awkward topic between us, especially now that I had come to realize that I love him._

"_And what did you say?" I ask, hiding my discomfort._

_Prince turned towards me and gave me a leveled look. "I told him that if I ever decided to marry I could well choose my own wife."_

_I got lost in his eyes at that moment, could he really be saying what I think he was saying. I would never be so bold to hope; that would only lead to my heart breaking._

"Mana!" Someone called out my name bringing me back to the present.

"Are you ok?" Prince asked.

"I am fine, just got lost in my own thoughts." I assured him, giving him a tiny smile.

He's eyes were slowly starting to distract me. I turned away trying to recollect my thoughts. That is when I noticed that Mahad and Isis had left the room.

"Where are Isis and Mahad?"

"They left a few minutes ago. It would seem that this isn't the first time you've spaced out like that."

I gave a simple shrug. "Yeah well after your death it became a habit of mine to tune out. It was the only way I could think of to escape my pain."

I cringed. _Why do I have such a big mouth?Perhaps it was because it was natural for me to confide in him._

"I am sorry for causing you pain Mana." He put his hand on my arm trying to provide some comfort.

"No, Atem," I told him sternly, using his first name to emphasis how serious I was. "Do not apologies to me, unless you know why you are apologizing."

"Mana I-"

"Atem I am serious."

"Ok, but tell me what were you thinking about this time." He said the last part with a smile.

_Idiot_!

Prince was subtly trying to get me to reveal information about his past. I thought back to what the memory was about and saw no reason how it could cause harm.

"I was thinking back to the day you told me about how Shimon had been bugging you for being so secretive and causing him problems in finding you a wife." I said mockingly, poking playfully at his arm.

"Oh, that sounds like Shimon." He was trying desperately to contain his laughter.

I on the other hand didn't have the same self-control that Prince did and without saying another word I burst into laughter. It seem that it was all it took for him to join me.

... ... ...

Hours later the gang had arrived at the game shop.

"Ok you guys everything has been set for you to go to school. We worked it out so that we all will be together.

"The story will be that Pharaoh-"

"Call me Atem, Yugi." He instructed the younger version of himself.

"Oh yeah, that Atem is my cousin. That will explain why we look so alike. Isis will be Atem's older sister and Mahad and Mana will be family friends, playing the roles of brother and sister." Yugi informed us giving each a level look.

"Sounds good Yugi," Prince began. "Something, which I keep forgetting to ask you is, how long has it been since the Ceremonial Duel?"

"Well Pha- Atem, it has been nearly a year." Tea answered, in a low voice.

"Oh," Prince replied giving me a sheepish look.

Yeah, time did work in mysterious ways in the Afterlife.

"So when do we start 'school'" I asked, already hating the word.

"Tomorrow," Joey said automatically. "The Principle thinks that it is the best thing considering how behind you all will be." He said the last almost too smugly.

However, it seemed that Prince knew how to knock Joey down a few notches. "Don't worry about us we are all quick learners and remember we were the ones that came up with numerology and astronomy."

"Plus, this 'school' thing can't be much harder than learning how to be a Priest, a Magician or Pharaoh." The rest gave a nod, silently agreeing with me.

Joey on the other hand was giving each of us a glare. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, he had been happy of knowing something that we didn't, or more precisely Prince didn't.

"Alright then, since we all have to wake up early tomorrow, I suggest we go to bed now." He directed the first part at Prince.

I had to resist the urge to chuckle, though apparently Prince noticed and sent me a glare.

We said our good nights and headed towards our rooms.

I reflected on what had happen today and remembered that I still had the Eye in my pocket. I quickly got out of my skirt and without waiting for Isis to enter the room I fell asleep.

* * *

**Well there you guys go, hope you enjoy it and I'll post the next one as soon as possible.**

**Merci!**


	11. First Day

**Hey everybody here is chapter XI, Atem and Mana's first day at school.**

**Thank you all who have reviewed and **

**Thank you Gin no Okami for favoriting and following **

**As well as thank you Random hero77 for following**

**And manouchan for favoriting.**

**I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH :(**

* * *

Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- **_Dream_**

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

* * *

Thrid Person POV

"Have you guys heard the rumor?" A blond girl asked a group of her friends.

"No, what?" a girl with black hair asked.

"There are going to be a group of new kids coming to our school."

"Oh yeah, I heard that they are related to the King of Games."

"What, do you think…?"

"Well, I can tell you that one of them is really cute."

"How do you know?"

"Turn around, they are entering the school."

"Oh."

... ... ...

The large building was full of students and teachers. However, Mana and Atem noticed that a few different groups of people were staring at them. They weren't sharp, piercing stares, but it did make Mana and Atem feel a bit nervous.

"Atem, why is everyone staring at us?" Mana asked Atem, subconsciously grapping his arm.

"They're not staring at you," he responded reassuringly, ignoring the stares as best he could. "They're staring at me."

"But why...?"

"Because of how much he looks like Yugi." Tea interrupted her. She gave her an annoyed look.

"Oh," Mana said.

Mana was staring to get mad at how Tea treated her. This morning when she had been conjuring up, the horrid uniform Tea barely helped.

"This is annoying. All the girls are looking at Pha-er Atem and Mahad and are completely ignoring Tristan and me." Joey complained, glaring at the group of giggling girls they were passing.

When they meet his glare, all they did was shoot one of their own.

"Joey, you are no ladies' man so stop complaining."

"So the rumors are true. But why there are two Yugis?" Duke Delvin said, leaning against the door frame to their first class.

"No there isn't, there's only one Yugi. The guy that is next to him and has a cute brunette-"

"Hey!" Mahad called out, not liking how Joey referred to Mana.

"-clinging to his arm is Atem. You know the Nameless Pharaoh." Joey said the last part in a whisper.

"Oh, but why-"

"We will explain later," Atem quickly answered, hoping to avoid that subject as much as possible.

"Ok and who is this." He indicated to the other Egyptian, giving her a searching look.

"Oh, this is Mana. She's my friend and priestess."

"Nice to meet you guys, especially you Mana," Duke said. He brought Mana's hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Atem sent Duke a glare. A strange feeling stirred within his heart. He normally didn't mind Duke's flirting. He even found it comical at times. However something about him flirting with Mana just ticked him off.

Atem took a deep breath to calm himself down. It was probably nothing. After all, it wasn't like they were married or something. Still, why did he get worked up like that?

Suddenly, a loud ring was heard throughout the halls, which caused Mana to cover her ears.

'Wow that sound was horrid sound.' Mana thought.

"I should be heading to first period. I'll see you guys later." Yugi said, before he took off in a different direction.

Duke did the same.

"See you later, Atem." Tea said, with a flirty smile which Mana tried to ignore.

"Come on, we should probably get our time tables." Atem suggested.

"Right!" Mana replied, giving him a firm nod.

The two Egyptians walked towards the office.

When they entered, they spotted a woman in a business suit behind a desk. She lifted her gaze from some documents, she had been processing when they entered the room.

"Hello," she welcomed them kindly. "How may I help you, Yugi?"

"Actually," Atem said, giving her a polite smile in return, "I'm his cousin, Atem."

She smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry about that; you just look so much alike."

"It's alright. Er, I was wondering if we might be able to finish the papers to register at this school."

The woman smiled and looked through a stack of papers. "Well, certainly!" she said, pulling out two packages of papers from a drawer. She displayed them onto the counter. "These are all the forms you need to fill out. When you two are finished, just give them back to me, alright?"

"Thank you," Atem said, taking the packages from her hands.

The two Egyptians sat down on a couple of chairs which were inside the office. Mana looked down at the paper work. Fortunately, Mahad and Isis filled most of it last night with Solomon's help. Mana thought it wasn't that bad, although she did feel sorry for Isis and Mahad filling them out last night.

They had decided this morning, before they left that it would be better for Mahad and Isis to be signed as their legal guardians. And them to stay at the shop, helping Yugi's granpa and organizing the house. It would look less suspicious.

Mana and Atem quickly filled out the paper work, putting it back on her desk. The woman then gave them both a brief lecture about the school rules before she handed them a lock along with their time tables.

When they walked out of the office, Mana shifted her green gaze towards Prince as they walked down the hallway.

"What class do we have right now anyways?" Mana asked.

Atem's eyes shifted towards his time table for a moment before he looked up at her again, continuing to walk beside her. "We have chemistry."

"Huh. What's that?"

Atem figured that Mana probably didn't know what that was. After all, that wasn't around 5000 years ago.

"Oh, it's a branch of science which deals with psychical substances and the changes in them."

Mana stared at him in confusion, trying to make sense of what he had said.

Atem smiled. "You'll probably figure out as the class goes along, besides I don't fully understand it myself. I'm still trying to figure these things out myself."

"Okay," Mana replied. "Still, how did you even know what that was anyway?"

"Oh, one of the advantages of having lived in Yugi's head," Atem answered.

"Ah." She said distantly, still trying to make sense of what Atem had said.

As they walked into the classroom, they noticed that the class has already begun and several pairs of eyes shifted towards them.

Atem saw the teacher standing next to the chalkboard. If he had to guess he would say he was around his early thirties.

"Are you a new student, Miss?" He asked when he saw Mana.

Atem let out a sigh. He guessed that the teacher thought he was Yugi. Though it was getting annoying, it was obvious that Atem was a few inches taller and his muscles were more defined.

"Yes," Atem stated, enjoying the shock look on the teacher's face when he heard his voice.

"Would you two mind telling the class a little about yourselves?" The teacher asked, hoping to figure out what was going on.

"My name is Atem Motou," Atem replied, ignoring the gasped that went around the room. "I'm Yugi's cousin."

Suddenly, the class erupted into hush conversations.

"So the rumors are true."

"Oh, do you think he is dating anyone. I mean his really cute."

"Do you think he is as good a gamer as his cousin?"

The girls that weren't gossiping turned around in their chairs and gave him a dreamy look.

'What is it with the girls of this school crushing on Prince?' Mana thought, resisting the urge to punch them.

"And I am Mana Asghar," she said, barely containing her anger. She had used the name that Mahad had come up with last night.

Mana took a deep breath. She had to calm down. She had nothing to be jealous about.

When she looked at Atem, her heart flew. Atem was ignoring all of them, not even giving them one look.

"Alright, just take the table in the back." The teacher said, resuming class though no one was paying attention.

Uncomfortable, Mana and Atem walked over to the table the teacher had indicated. Luckily it was next to the back window, giving them a beautiful view of the sun.

Mana found it amusing how she got to sit next to Atem, every girl was secretly glaring at her. It reminded her to much of the princess and nobles daughter's that hated her for being close to Atem.

As the teacher wrote on the board, the students one by one turned to take notes. They must have come to the conclusion that if they wanted to ambush the new students. It would have to be during the morning free period.

As the class continued, Atem and Mana began taking notes. Fortunately, they did nothing that they couldn't handle. When the class was done, they gathered their things as quickly as possible and sprang out the door before the other students got the chance to stand.

The rest of the morning went on in a very similar manner, find the class room, introduce themselves, endure the stares and escape before the others had finished packing up theirs things.

Comically, Atem kept on being mistaken as Yugi, which quickly got on his nerves. However, Mana was finding Atem's reaction really funny. Every time they called him Yugi and his jaw tighten out of frustration, Mana had to repress a laugh.

At the end of their third hour and their morning free period began a wave of relief rolled through them.

* * *

**There you go, hope you enjoyed it.**

**The next chap will still be in school.**

**REVIEW AND Au Revoir for now.**


	12. Avoiding the Inquisition

**Hey guys, I know it's been what a week since my last update, I know unusual for me but school is picking up and I haven't had the time of updating.**

**So know that I am done explaining, I would like to thank dragonicdevil for favoriting and following.**

**Also I would like to thank Aqua girl 007 for helping me co-write chapter 11. Merci!**

**And before we start I would unhappily like to say that I do not own YUGIOH! **

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Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- _**Dream**_

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

* * *

Third Person POV

"So how long is this free period?" Mana asked, already exhausted from the day.

She couldn't believe she would have to do this every day of the week.

Atem gave her a small smile. When they had reached the exercise bars, he had climbed to the tallest one and sat down.

"Around fifty minutes, we're supposed to catch up on work during this time."

Yeah that wasn't going to happen, both of them were so bored of this work. Mana was even missing her old magic classes.

"Yeah, not going to happen," she said matter-of-factly.

"I imagined," he responded looking down at her.

She looked up. This was so familiar to her. Normally it would have been a tree and she would be leaning against it and not a metal bar.

Mana looked around the courtyard. There was barely anybody around. "Atem what are we doing here?"

"It's a nice day out, and the student body is staying inside in the comfort of the AC." He said the last part smugly, enjoying the fact that he could avoid the inquiry for a little longer.

"You just don't want to be ambushed, and what is an AC?" She joked; glad to have some time alone with Atem.

"True and it is a machine that cools down a room." Atem smiled. It surprised him how easily Mana understood him.

Mana slid down the bar and lay against it.

The two of them spend the rest of the hour in silence, lost in thought and enjoying the company of the other.

The hour passed without incidents.

As Mana and Atem walked towards their next class, Ancient Languages, it seemed that the stares only magnified and the curiosity in them at time was even hostile.

They entered the room and were surprised by seeing Tea and Joey there.

"Hey you two!" Joey called out to them waving them over.

"How has been your day been?" Tea asked, trying her best to ignore Mana.

Mana decided to annoy her at that moment. She answered. "It has been well, though the stares have been getting on our nerves."

Tea reluctantly turned toward her. "Oh, so what did you two do during Free Period? We didn't find you guys anywhere in the school."

Atem gave Mana a knowing smile. "We were outside, relaxing on the exercise bars."

"Wait you two were outside in this weather?"

They both shrugged. The heat they were used to made the days actually refreshing.

Tea didn't like hearing of them together alone. It was bad enough that they had the same schedule.

At that moment, the teacher walked into the room. The class quickly quieted and luckily for Atem and Mana it would seem that they were beginning to study Ancient Egyptian.

"No way," Joey quietly complained. While the two Egyptians in the room tried in vain to hide their smug smiles.

Thankfully for them, no one, but Tea noticed. She found the advantage they had. Atem and Mana were both fluent in ancient Egyptian, lucky them!

"Oh and students we have two new students with us today."

At that, every pair of eyes turned towards Mana and Atem.

"Would you two be so kind to tell us a little about yourselves?" He asked us kindly. He looked to be around his mid-twenties and had a shine in his eyes when he saw them.

The teacher knew that there was more to the new kids than what all the other teachers had told him.

"I am Mana," she pointed to the tricolored hair boy that sat next to her. "And he is Atem."

With that said, Mana sat down, and looked down to her notebook.

The teacher looked at the boy, waiting for him to say something, but unlike his cousin, he wore a confidence that bordered arrogance. All of his teachers had commented on the same fact. It was like if he was prepare to lead an army into the gates of hell themselves.

"Nice to meet you two and I hope you have had a good first day," they both shrugged. "Please call me Mr. Everheart and if you ever feel lost don't be shy to ask for help."

The teacher noticed that Mana and Atem shared a knowing smile, before they nodded to him.

Nothing interesting happened after that. To Atem's amusement, Mana had nearly fallen asleep near the end. They did the same as they had done in their previous classes and left as soon as the bell rang. They didn't notice till they were half way to their next class that Joey and Tea were trying to catch up with them.

"Are you being chased or something?" Joey asked jokingly when they had been able to catch up. "Also what class do you guys have next?"

Mana looked down to their time table. "Math and we are avoiding the inquisition."

"Cool; so do we. I think Tristan and Yugi do too." Joey replied.

"Wait a sec, Mana how do you know about the inquisition?" Tea asked her. It was the first time that the young Magician had sparked some interest in her.

Atem also gave Mana a questioning look.

Mana kept on walking, with the other three right on her heels. She gave Atem a small smile. "It was one of the advantages of being in the Afterlife. You meet people of many different times. They may not talk to one about the small things in their life, but about the way they died, especially if it had been traumatic in a way."

The other three looked at her with skeptical looks. Tea and Joey simply couldn't believe her. The thought of the Afterlife and listening to people talk about the way they died was a thought they could barely accept.

Atem on the other hand noticed that Mana was excluding something from her explanation. He decided to stay quiet and when the time was right ask her about it.

"Hey you guys!" Yugi called running towards them.

"Hey Yugi!" Joey said, giving him a nod.

"So how has been your first day?" Yugi asked Mana and Atem. They both gave a shrug.

"Okay then, so I was thinking that after school we could go out and show you guys the town." Yugi asked them.

"Sounds great Yugi." Joey said excitedly. He would do anything he could to avoid going to his house and confronting his dad.

"Yeah, don't you guys agree?" Tea asked the two Egyptians.

Mana gave Yugi an apologetic smile. "Sorry you guys, but we have training with Mahad later today."

Atem nodded giving Yugi the same smile. "Though, you guys are welcome to come and watch."

"Cool and don't worry we understand." Yugi and Joey gave them a smile. Tea just kept sending Mana the evil eye.

"Sure, it could be interesting." Tea said, barely able to hide the sourness in her voice.

Later that day after school was over, the gang walked to the game shop.

Atem and Mana were able to avoid the inquisition for the rest of the day, though they knew that they would have to confront them sooner than later.

When they entered the shop, they were meet with chaos.

"I told you that it that this went over there neat the shelves!" Solomon was telling Mahad angrily.

"That is where I out it!" Mahad defended himself. It would seem that they had been having this argument for some time now.

"Then why was it on the counter?" Solomon asked barely containing his annoyance.

"Because you put it there!" Mahad responded exasperated. It would seem that it was the first time that he had said that.

"Hey we're home." Yugi announced loudly, hoping to break up the fight between them.

It barely worked. They were still staring down at on another trying to see who would back down first.

Tea sighed. "What are you to fighting about?"

Solomon turned towards them reluctantly. "He nearly had me breaking this priceless game chest."

"Not true, I put it where you told me. After that you went and got it and for an unexplainable reason, you decided to bring it back here." He brought his fist down on the counter.

Mana knew that Mahad was near his last nerves. Yes, he was patient guy, Ra how she knew that. However, if you were to annoy him long enough he would mostly like turn you into a cat. It had happen to Mana perhaps seven times in her life time and once to Atem when he was eight. Atem's father nearly burst a vein when he found out. Though, Mahad had only been ten at the time. It became a Palace joke after that.

"Um, Mahad before you turn poor Mr. Motou into a cat, why done we go and practice." Mana sweetly suggested. She ignored the surprise look of everyone, even Atem. He must not remember being turn into cat himself. She sighed. Why her life had to be so complicated?!

Mahad gave Mana a level, but nodded. He exited the room, leaving Solomon with his mouth hanging open.

"We'll see you guys in a few." Mana waved at the gang, nudging Atem to follow Mahad.

The others and Solomon stood where they had left them staring at one another. They didn't understand what had happen.

To Solomon it would seem that Mana was use to diffusing situation like this, but it was strange. Supposedly, in ancient Egypt the queen was the one that handle situations like within the Palace and as far as he knew Mana was not an Egyptian Queen.

* * *

**There you go, I know, I know it was a filler, this little scenes appeared in my head and I had to write them down. However I like to think this filler gives some back bone to who the character is and makes them seem that they are having a semi-normal first day at school. **

**So hope you enjoyed it and Au Revoir for now.**

**REVIEW!**


	13. Connection of the Souls

**Hey you all. Here is the next chapter, XIII; the last one was a filler. Think I've said that in the last chapter at the end. So I will like to inform you that the updates will be less frequent then before. School has been getting heavier and more loaded then ever I hardly have time to write and edit. **

**So please don't throw the tomatoes in my direction. And remember, I do promise to keep on writing and to finish this story. Though I do not know how long it will be.**

**Yours truly, AIR.**

* * *

**Now back to business, I thank all of you who have reviewed and to everybody who has read this fic. As well as, thank you ****gngn052 for following.**

**So here I am trying something new, tell me what you think. And perhaps I'll keep doing it.**

**You'll see it at the end and i do not own YUGIOH.  
**

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Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- _**Dream**_

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

* * *

Atem's POV

When we entered the family room, Mahad, with a wave of his hand, pushed the furniture against the opposite wall.

I noticed that Mana was giving Mahad a cautious look.

"You were kidding about him turning Solomon into a cat, right?" I asked, not believing that Mahad would do such a rash thing.

"Nope; I was totally serious," she said matter-of-factly. "I can even recall the time he turned you into one. We had so much fun that day, though your Yat nearly burst a vein."

I stared at her. But as she slowly described that day, the memory slowly returned to me. I could recall running the halls of the Palace on four black and yellow paws, chasing Mahad through the halls.

"I can't believe that we pulled that prank on Mahad that day."

"Yeah, though it was really fun…" She let the sentence hang, realizing what I had said. Her eyes widened and looked at me, startled. "Hey I didn't say anything about a prank."

"I know; something you said triggered the memory and I can recall everything that happened that day." I said, smiling at her.

Before she could respond, Mahad called for our attention.

"So in our training we will work on the magical, mental and physical, meaning we will be retaking our combat and sword training."

"Dang, Mahad are you trying to kill us from exhaustion?" Mana complained, resisting the urge to conjure up a knife and throw it at him.

Mahad gave her a level look and kept on explain as though she hadn't interrupted him.

"We will do a little of everything and our training sessions will be minimum two hours long."

"What?!" Mana and I cried out.

Mahad rolled his eyes. "The sessions will be three nights a week. You guys can choose which days those will be."

"Oh." We sighed in relief.

"Now today will begin with a simple levitation spells. So focus on the two pillows that are on the couch and levitate them."

"Wait you're not going to tell us what the spell is?" Mana asked incredulously.

"No, I want to see if you can recall the basics of your training."

We both send him a look asking, 'what the hell?'

However, we both concentrated on the task at hand. I unfortunately couldn't think of the spell. No matter how hard I tried, my memories eluded me.

I noticed that Mana was also having trouble. Though, she may be able to recall the events of her life, she did forget her magical training.

Not knowing what to do, I sat down, crossed legged. Mana and Mahad gave me questioning looks, though Mana held a little curiosity in them. I closed my eyes and focused on meditating.

"_I hate training sometimes!" Mana yelled out, throwing her arms in frustration._

"_I know." I responded, looking up at the sky. I was exhausted. Mahad had us unmercifully doing the simple levitating spell on each other for hours straight. After that we had combat with Karim, and after he had fought with Seto earlier that day, he was in a foul mood. _

"_Especially that levitating spell."_

"_I know."_

"خفيفةكالهواء," _She recited the spell._

"_Oh stop, I don't feel like hearing it again."_

"Is he ok?" A high pitched voice broke my concentration.

"Quiet, he is meditating." Another high pitch voice chided the first one.

"Why?"

"Most likely he is trying to recall the spell."

"Oh."

I opened my eyes, now that my mind hand fully returned to a conscious state. "Mana I've got it." I spoke to her in ancient Egyptian.

"Great," She responded in the same tongue. "How does it go?"

"What are they saying Tristan?" I heard Joey ask him, though I ignored them.

"No clue, I don't understand Egyptian."

I continued instructing Mana on what to do, as if I hadn't heard them. "Focus on the object and repeat this chant, خفيفةكالهواء."

"خفيفةكالهواء." She repeated.

"Yeah," I gave her an assuring smile.

We turned towards the pillows that Mahad had indicated to, closing our eyes and reaching for the dark power that resided in both of our souls we cast the spell.

"خفيفةكالهواء." We said in unison.

I felt my power surge and combined with Mana's. In that moment, I felt her soul come with mine and it felt so natural. I could easily say that it was one of the best feelings that I had ever felt.

I wanted to ask her if she felt what I was feeling and if she knew what it meant.

Pushing those questions to the back of my head, for the moment and with a final thrust of energy the pillows rose into the air.

The conversation around us dropped and everyone stared at the two floating pillows. Without another thought, we focused more power into the spell and gradually levitated every other pillow until the entire couch was a couple meters of the floor.

I looked over at Mana and she gave me a satisfied smile. Everyone but Mahad and Isis had a dumbfounded expression up on their face.

Well that wasn't completely true; Tea, behind her shaken expression, wore a glower of jealously and it was aimed at Mana. Why in Ra's name would she be jealous of Mana? I knew she had a misdirected crush on me, but Mana was my closest friend…

That was when I got it. Tea thought Mana was some type of competition.

Ah Nut, I knew that this would lead to future complications.

Ignoring that nagging thought, I turned my attention back to what I was doing and the brilliant feeling of being connected to Mana.

Mahad meet my gaze and he gave me a small nod. Slowly and steadily, we drew our magic in, placing the furniture in its place. When I felt the last drops of magic in the air, I knew it was the power that was connecting Mana and me. I felt great reluctance to let her go, to let the connection severe.

I looked at her and I saw the same emotions reflected in her eyes. She held her hand out to me and I grabbed it as if it was a life line. She gave me a squeeze and slowly let the connection break. I felt as though I was missing an important part of my soul and heart.

She gave me a small smile. When I looked over at Mahad, he gave us a stern look.

The air in the room grew to near unbearable levels of tension. Luckily, Joey decided to break it with one of his empty remarks.

"Wow, you guys sure know how to quiet down a room."

Mana gave a slight chuckle and let go of my hand.

The next few hours passed in a flash and the feeling of being lost stayed with me during the whole time.

As we headed to bed, I couldn't let go of the images that ran through my head and the desire that stirred within my body.

As I ready to go to bed, I couldn't forget the feeling of being connected to Mana; as well as the thought that there was some deeper meaning to what had happened. I just wish that I could understand all the emotions that I was feeling in these last few days.

Lost in my head, I slowly lost the feeling of consciousness.

* * *

_**I slowly drew the power from the deepest corners of myself, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't cast a decent reflection spell.**_

_**When Mana thought that my defenses were prepared, she threw a ball of power in my direction. Unfortunately, it easily passed through and nearly hit me on the head.**_

_**"**__**Oh, come on Atem that was a weak one."**_

_**I grunted. "I know."**_

_**She smiled and gave a small laugh. She was enjoying my struggle with the spell.**_

_**"**__**What? Have you mastered the spell?"**_

_**"**__**No, but you are you and I am me."**_

_**Mana logic, somehow I could understand it.**_

_**"That makes hardly any sense."**_

_**"But it still makes sense." She stated.**_

_**I looked over to the other side of the training room where Karim and Mahad were dueling. I saw how in one moment Karim had two monsters and then he combined their energies, creating a new beast.**_

_**That gave me an idea.**_

_**I turned to Mana and saw that she was leaning on the far wall opposite from me. **_

_**"Mana!" I yelled. **_

_**She lifted her eyebrows. "What?"**_

_**"Why don't we try combining our powers, perhaps then we-"**_

_**"Prince don't even think about doing such thing." Mahad and Karim now stood behind me, looking between Mana and me.**_

_**Huh, now I was curious.**_

_**"Why, Master Mahad? Karim does it all the time with Beasts." Mana asked, with the same curiosity that I had.**_

_**"Mana, that is because he carries the Millennium Scale, granting him that ability. What you are suggesting? The combining of power of two Magicians is a very intimate act?"**_

_**"Huh?" We asked him, not completely understanding what he was saying.**_

_**Mahad sighed, while Karim chuckled slightly. **_

_**I imagine that he was enjoying the apparent embarrassment that was written on Mahad's face. **_

_**"It will be the joining of your souls, letting the person into your very essence. That will create a bond on a very intimate level. If you asked the Pharaoh, he would likely tell you that... that..i... it..." He was stuttering and every time that he stuttered Karim chuckled. Mahad took in a deep breath and in the exhale sputtered the last part. "Unitesthetwopeople,bindingthemforlifeinanunbreaka blebond,literallybecomingonesoul." **_

_**"Oh!" I said, my face taking a bright red tone. I couldn't meet Mana's eyes, though I did notice that her face was red as mine.**_

_**What Mahad had said, was an act of true commitment between two people, and the combining of the souls was the most intimate act that we had. It was practically marriage, in all sense of the word. And though I might actually care deeply for Mana, I wasn't prepared to share my feelings with anyone, at least not yet. **_

* * *

**AIR dragged Atem into the room, Mana followed with a grin.**

'**I can't believe you helped her." He complained.**

'**Well it was either this or spending another three hours with Mahad." Mana made a disgusted face at the thought.**

**Atem just gave her a look.**

**AIR was getting annoyed with their little spat, she completely understood now why Mahad had moments of wanting to kill them.**

'**Ok guys, as much as this is amusing let's get down to what is important.'**

**They looked at each other and then at her, AIR was positive that Mana wanted to say a few things but with one look at Atem, she stayed quiet. For the moment that is. 'Tell me guys what you think about the story.'**

**Atem looked thoughtful for a moment and surprisingly he answered truthfully, or so she imagine. 'It's good, though I do feel uncomfortable with you telling our story.'**

'**Oh, ignore him, keep writing, I like it. It reminds me of how lucky I am now a days.' She leaned over to Atem and gave him a peck on the cheek. **

**Atem gave her an adoring look.**

**AIR felt as though she was intruding and left the room, giving them their privacy. **

**Jijiji. ;)**

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**Hope you enjoyed it all and please I beg of you guys to review.**

**Au Revoir, for now.**


	14. A Truth, A Heartbreak, A Mess

**Hey people, here is Chapter XIV, drama ahead small warning to you all. So here is where we will see the relationship start to take form as well Atem is slowly getting closer to the truth. **

**So as a costume I will like to thank Queen Nephthys for favoriting this fic and to everyone that has reviewed.**

**So, this is the last thing before the chapter begins and it is mostly for I don't get sued, though it is the most obvious thing in the world that I did not create YUGIOH or do I own it. **

* * *

Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- _**Dream**_

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods or Information

Atem's Inner Thoughts- _Thoughts_

* * *

Atem's POV

The next day as we walked into home room, and luckily it was a class that we all shared, there was a group of kids waiting to ambush Mana and me inside the room.

"Hey look, they're here." A red haired girl announced.

There was no way for Mana and me to escape, though we had known that we couldn't avoid them forever. I sent her a look, but when I met her eyes, I thought back to the dream I had the night before.

It had answered many questions, but just as many remained unanswered. I knew now that I had felt something deeper than just friendship for her, and if I was I honest with myself, those feelings still remained. I just didn't know if I should act upon them.

I also wondered if I had acted upon them back in Egypt.

We walked towards the back of the classroom, grabbing the seats near the window. Just as Mana and I were putting down our bags, the mass herd of students surrounded us.

We couldn't decipher one question from another, and just when a headache started to sprout the rest of the gang broke through the crowd and created a protective circle around us.

"Shut up!" Joey yelled.

When the room quieted down, Tea in a loud voice instructed, "One at a time and in order."

A brown haired girl stared at Tea in shock, but there was also envy in her stare. "Where do you guys come from?" She asked in a small voice.

It was a simple question, and I hoped they would all be like that.

"Egypt," we both responded.

"Are you two related?" A snarky blond girl barked out; there was a certain undertone in her voice.

We looked at each other. Our eyes were bright with laughter.

"No, we aren't related." Mana answered, trying her best to not show her amusement.

"So, are you a couple then?" The same blond asked. A grin broke out on her face when she saw the laughter leave our eyes.

"Um…" Mana wasn't sure how to answer that.

I myself wasn't sure. I knew that I cared deeply for her, but I still couldn't believe the possibility that she might feel the same.

"No." I answered.

As the word passed my lips, I knew that it felt wrong, that there was more between us than friendship and I wanted there to be more.

I also felt Mana flinch, and I was dying to know what she felt and why she reacted that way to my words.

Having spoken that word, almost every girl surrounding us giggled.

Ra, what did I get myself into? Fortunately, the teacher entered the room. She gave the circle a look and shook her head, and using the whistle she carried around her neck called the class to order.

... ... ...

The day passed without problems. However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't forget about my dream.

Mana and I had decided during our first free period that when we got back to the Game Shop we would sit down and talk. We would try to understand what was triggering my memories and what they were trying to tell me.

As we entered the Game Shop, we quietly excused ourselves and slipped into her room. I believed that the gang would first search in my room rather than anywhere else. Mana and I were hoping to have some privacy from Mahad and Isis.

Closing the door after we entered the room, Mana took a seat leaning against the wall far from the door.

"So tell me, what was your dream about?" She asked, studying the complex design on the wall.

"Hum, I'm not sure where to begin." I stated, trying to delay breaking the peace.

Mana gave me an understanding smile. "Just begin with the first memory that returned and we'll work from there."

I nodded and looked at my hands. "It was the first night we were in this realm. I dreamt about the day you convinced Mahad to let you go on your first hunt."

"Oh, I remember that day. At the end, when we returned, the story had already spread that I killed a queen hawk. I believe that the seer saw something that distressed your Dad a great deal."

"Can't say I remember that part, but before we left, Mahad had a talked with me. It was a story about my great grandfather."

"Ah, you told me about it a few months later, but I don't remember it in full detail." She said the second part as an afterthought.

"Mana, I get this feeling that you know more than you pretend." I turned to her.

Mana turned her gaze towards me and gave me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Atem, as much as I wish to tell you everything, I am afraid that if I do, it might break the seal."

"Wait, you know what the seal is?" She flinched. Mana had unintentionally revealed more then she had planned.

Mana didn't see a way out of answering him and give him a serious look. "Yeah, forgive me Atem. I've always known what the necklace was, since you gave it to me. However, as strong as the magic was to create it, it's also really fragile."

"So you lied about not knowing what the necklace was?"

She was graceful enough to look somewhat ashamed. "Sorry."

"Mana, I am afraid to ask, but what else have you lied to me about?"

The look she gave me was one of complete misery and guilt. "Atem, I-"

I held up my hand, realizing that I really didn't want to know. I had blindly trusted her and followed her word in almost every matter.

I stared at her. I was at a loss. She had felt like the only solid thing in this whole mess, when in truth, she was the most transparent thing. Mana held the pieces to the puzzle, yet who knew if they held some truth.

I couldn't look at her. "Mana, I can't... I have to go." I said, having the urge to be as far away from her as possible before I said anything I could regret.

"Atem..."

I stood up. Without looking back, I left her sitting there, alone.

As I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it, slightly overwhelmed. A part of me was in physical pain. I remembered the pain that had been in her voice when she had said my name and the sorrowful look in her eyes. It all felt as though someone had stabbed me in the heart and was slowly twisting the knife.

As I tried to pry myself off the door, I heard a sob. As much as I wanted to comfort her, my head kept reminding me that she lied to me. It was a small annoying voice in the back of my head, but strong enough to out weight what my heart wanted me to do.

I walked over to my room and lay down on my bed.

I didn't notice when Tea walked in, I had been too preoccupied in my thoughts trying to figure out what I should do next.

"Um Pha-Atem, is everything ok?" She was standing by the door, looking at me with curiosity. However behind the curiosity, her adoration for me showed.

"Yeah, I just got into a disagreement with Mana," I replied, staring at the ceiling.

Tea slowly began walking into the room. "What about? I think I heard her crying when I passed her room."

I cringed at the mention of Mana crying, it hurt as much as a physical blow would have.

"Don't worry about it Tea."

"Are you sure, I could help?" She said in what I imagined she thought was a comforting voice, but actually sounded condescending.

I looked at her. I knew that she would keep on asking until I told her something, but I also felt that it was something that was only about Mana and me.

"Tea, what do you want?" I asked her, not noticing that it had sounded harsher then I intended it to.

"Oh, I came here because we were all worried about you and Mana. The two of you have been in here for the past two hours, I think."

I sat up, looking up at her. Tea was now sitting on the edge of my bed, looking at me with hope radiating in her eyes. I wondered why she was looking at me like that.

"Tea-" I began, but before I was able to continue. Moving in a surprising speed and got me completely off guard, she pressed her lips against my own. When I was about to push her gently away, I heard a crash.

Tea and I jumped apart. Turning my gaze towards the door, I saw the worst thing I could ever imagine – Mana stood there with an expression of utter heartbreak with pieces of broken glass near her feet.

"Mana I—"

"Don't Atem, just don't," she said in a small voice. Before I could stop her, she ran off.

* * *

Jejejeje, so if you have watched the abridge series of YUGIOH. Then you had to notice that the way that Atem sees Tea is how they show he sees her there as annoying. Also in that time Atem had just been released from the puzzle and anybody having been trapped for five thousand years, who wouldn't have lost a bit of their humanity. So yes we are seeing a little of Atem's dark side. The one we saw in season 0, yippie.

* * *

'**I can't believe you wrote about that.' Atem looks at AIR in disbelief.**

'**Well it's a crucial part of the story." AIR responds indignant. **

**Mana is looking at Atem. 'So it wasn't you that kissed her.' Relief was evident in her voice.**

'**Mana I do not know how many times I've told you that.' Atem said hiding a smile; well at least one good thing came from exposing his whole life to the world. **

**Mana gave him a shy smile, 'um AIR as was wondering how descriptive you are going to be with what is coming up next.'**

**AIR laughs evil in her head, 'I'm not totally sure, but this is a rate T fic, so not everything will be mentioned.'**

**At least not in this fic, AIR thought hiding her gloating smile.**

'**Ah, good, so as a favor to you I will tell everyone reading this to REVIEW!' She said smiling though Atem was giving AIR a suspicious look.**

'**Aaah, thank you Mana,' AIR turned towards Atem and gave him a glare. 'Why can't you be more like her?" AIR chided him.**

'**Yeah whatever,' he responded turning his attention back to Mana.**

**AIR just rolled her eyes at him, his one focus in the world was her and it was the sweetest thing ever.**


	15. The First of Many Truths

**Hey you guys, here chapter XV, YEAH!**

**So I will like to thank the people who have reviewed, but I am sad about the amount that haven't. This last week we have been seeing statistics in class and by the amount of people who have read this fic and the amount who have review just don't add up.**

**So enough of my babbling and enjoy the next chapter.**

**PS: I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH! T-T **

* * *

Dreams (Flashback) or Memory- _**Dream**_

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback- _Flashback_

Gods- Gods

Inner Dialog- 'thoughts'

* * *

As she ran out the room, her eyes blurred from her unshed tears. The only thought that was going through her mind was, _'he was kissing Tea'. _She went into her room and, without a single thought, dropped the Millennium Eye on top of her bed. She stared at it, trying to remind herself that it was her link to this world. However, the only image that popped into her head was Atem's lips pressed against Tea's.

'_No, stop__.'_ She chided herself. There was no reason as to why she should keep torturing herself.

However there was no way Mana was going to endure the pain of looking at Atem and the feeling of emptiness within her heart. A few nights back when their souls had reconnected, she had felt the wholeness that only his soul could provide her with.

'_No_,' she thought. There was no way that she was going to let any of this cripple her. However, when she thought of facing Atem, her heart shattered. It wasn't right, she had come back to the Realm of the Living to provide the person she loved with his memories. Now though, she wasn't seeing a reason to stick around. It was obvious that the magic of the seal was long gone, so she wasn't needed. At least in the afterlife, she had been living a semi-peaceful life; not thinking on the fact that it had been pretty miserable and lonely.

Mana decided that it would probably be for the best to just go back and leave Atem here with his friends and Tea. Mana felt as though she didn't belong; she might have been denying it but she knew it was the truth.

As she reflected on everything that had been going on in the past few days and what she had been feeling. Mana came to the conclusion that it was probably for the best that she leave. She felt as though Atem didn't need her and that he could survive without her.

Mana nodded to herself, having made a decision. She rapidly took a sweater from within a drawer and ran out of her room and out of the game shop. What had made her choice more final was seeing that Tea and Atem were quietly discussing something.

Mana ran and ran, not turning back and not taking into account where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away. Mana tried to imagine what they were going to think when they notice that she was gone, and that the Millennium Eye was resting on top of her bed.

She asked herself, how long it would take for the spell's magic to take effect and remove her from this world. She silently asked Ra for it to happen before Mahad and Isis figured out what she was up to.

... ... ...

Atem sat on his bed in shock. Tea had kissed him and what was worse was that Mana had walked in on them. Yes, it was true that he didn't feel anything but a small, friendly, fondness for Tea, but the fact that Mana had walked in and the expression she had worn was tearing through his heart.

Tea was looking at him and he was positive that she was waiting for a response to her previous question, but all he had heard was the faint sob and yell that had come across the hall. He looked down at the shattered pieces of clear glass that rested on the foot of the door frame.

"Atem?" Tea asked as Atem stood up and collected the pieces.

"Tea…" He began letting the sentence hang, unable to continue. Atem wasn't sure what he wanted to say. A part of him wanted to yell at her and demand to know what she had been thinking when she kissed him. He already knew the answer to that one, but another part wanted to run after Mana and try to make amends, though he wasn't sure how to do that.

"Can you please just go?" He decided at last still staring at the glass.

"But, Atem aren't we going to-"

"No we are not." He interrupted, snapping at her. He couldn't believe her nerve. It was never his intention to lead her on, but he never wanted to spell it out to her. "Tea I do not know how to say this, but I want to get it through to you that there will never be anything between us. I care for you just as a friend, nothing more."

"But you rescued me a few years back; remember first with the escaped convict, than the bomber as well as with the fake psychic." She said in a small voice. It sounded to Atem like she was trying to convince herself of her feelings and his for that matter.

"Yes Tea, I saved you but it was only for Yugi. Honestly, if it weren't for him and the possibility of an interesting game, I wouldn't have bothered." He said it bluntly near his last nerve. Atem wanted to go out and speak to Mana.

He saw Tea's heart shatter, but he knew that it was for the best. Perhaps now she would move on and focus her attention on the one who truly deserved it, Yugi. Atem knew how his old partner felt about her. He also knew that he was going to have to have a chat with him when all of this was over, and if Tea needed to see him as the bad guy then it was a cost that he was willing to pay.

He took a step back and silently told her to leave. When she had left he began to close the door and that is when he noticed it. Mana's door was wide open letting him see easily into the room and what he saw nearly sent him into a panic attack.

The Millennium Eye sat on her bed and a small stream of blackish smoke was leaking out. He quickly ran over to it and stared at it. _'What could this mean?'_ The question rang throughout his head.

"Mahad! Isis!" He called out and within seconds they appeared on the other side of the door. Joey, Tristan, Yugi and mostly likely Tea were right behind them.

"What is it, your Highness?" Isis asked giving the room a quick inspection.

As an explanation Atem showed her the Eye. The gang that was standing behind them gasped.

"Um, that's the millennium eye!" Joey exclaimed taking a few steps back. A freaked out look was written on his face.

"Atem, why do you have the millennium eye?" Yugi asked in a small freaked out voice.

Atem ignored the questions and the exclamations. All that mattered to him was that Mana could be anywhere and without the eye being with her. Her corporeal form would slowly lose its stability and her soul would be sent to the Shadow Realm.

"I'll try to track her." Mahad said in a monotone voice. Atem let out a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't ask what had happen to make Mana run away, but he knew that when they found Mana it was something he wouldn't be able to avoid.

Atem turned towards Yugi giving him an apologetic smile. "I am sorry Yugi and to you all, I give you my word that we will explain everything once we find Mana."

They all nodded. Tea kept her gaze focused on the floor. A small frown was hidden behind her locks.

As the gang and the Egyptians tried to locate Mana, the only thing that ran through Atem's mind was of her heartbroken expression. It was then that he remembered he had the small pieces of glass. He looked at Mahad and in a hushed tone called him over.

"Mahad, could you fix this for me?" Atem asked him, staring at the small pieces.

Mahad gave him a small nod, noticing the look of pain in his eyes. Whatever it was, it was really important and Mahad guessed that it mostly likely had something to do with Mana. He muttered a small spell, جعله كله, and waved his hand over them.

In a steady fashion, the small puzzle was reunited and the pieces revealed their form. It was a simple glass ring and Atem noticed that it was the small size of his ring finger.

Mahad silently recognized the object but when Atem gave him a questioning look he sighed, "It is obviously a ring. You used to wear it all the time in the last year and a half before Zorc's attack, but if I recall correctly it normally had a swirl of colors. Whatever magic that was used in it must not be in effect."

"Oh," Atem murmured looking at the ring. He wondered why Mana had wanted to give it to him.

Mahad chuckled, "I can recall Mana had a bracelet with a similar property." He commented off hand, not noticing Atem's curious look.

Atem shook his head and looked at the ring, slowly placing it on his finger. A small voice within his head was whispering to him that it was the right thing to do. As he looked at it, a small smile fought to break through.

Mahad looked at the ring wondering what could've happened between the two friends, as well as what the importance was behind the glass ring. He could easily recall that Atem had never taken it off and guarded it with his life; Mana was the same with her bracelet.

Calling them out of their thoughts, Isis pulled them over to a small map of the city. "She is here." She stated calmly.

Joey and Tristan gave her questioning looks. "Um… no offense but how do you know that?" Joey asked trying to not look at her in awe.

Isis gave them a level look and answered in an annoyed voice. "My Millennium Necklace showed me that she was heading towards a park and the nearest one is this one." She said the last part in a sly tone.

"Wait so it's practically a guess?" Yugi said in a bewildered tone.

"No, it is an educated assumption."

"Same thing," he murmured.

Isis sent him a glare but shook her head. It wasn't the time to discuss this. Who knew how long Mana had before her soul started to get sucked into the Shadow Realm, and while Isis didn't know the role Mana played in recovering Atem's memories, she did know that Mana's presence was essential in it all.

"Ah, Isis, Mahad, everybody… where is Atem." Joey commented taking into account that they were missing a certain star shaped tri color haired boy.

"Dang, not again," Tristan said searching through the rooms in vain. "Why does he always do this?" He asked no one in particular.

However it was Mahad that answered him. "Those two have always been close. Whatever happened between them, they mostly likely won't tell us what it was about."

"That doesn't matter. We still have to go after them. Who knows if they'll run into trouble?" Yugi said grabbing his coat.

The gang knew that he was right and quickly followed him, hoping that Mana and Atem were alright.

... …. ….

It was at that time a few streets down that a boy with white long hair gained consciousness.

'_Uh, why have I returned to this world?__'_ the boy asked himself not believing his eyes.

He slowly began to recognize the street he was on. He was only a few blocks away from Ryou's place. Not thinking twice about it, he slowly started to walk in that direction.

For the first time in millenniums, he felt his mind at peace. There was no evil spirit trying to control him now. He quietly wondered if the Pharaoh had also returned. It was the only explanation he could think of for him being here.

He sighed, it really didn't matter. He would never forgive him for everything that had happened. He honestly did miss his friend, and he lost it all with only one moment of weakness.

The white haired boy walked down the road staring down at the cement pavement, reliving all the wrongs he had done and all that he most likely lost.

* * *

**Ok there you go, hope you enjoyed it and if you did, PLEASE TELL ME!**

**In other words REVIEW!**


	16. Don't Break My Heart

**Hey, all you people here is Chapter XVI.**

**HOPE YOU LIKE IT AND THANK YOU ALL TO THE ONES WHO HAVE REVIEWED.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't, for the thousandth time, own YUGIOH.**

* * *

A knock echoed throughout Ryou's home, making him jump a bit. He wasn't expecting anybody. And, he knew was that his friends were spending a quiet evening, showing the town to the two Egyptians. Ryou understood why they hadn't introduced him. He knew that he looked too much like the Thief King and all he would do was bring back old, painful memories.

The knocks on the door became more persistent.

"I'm going, I'm going," Ryou called out, standing up from his desk. He had been working on his end of the year project.

He gradually opened the door and what greeted him scared him half to death. There right in front of him stood the Thief King, who gave him a wicked smirk.

"Wha…wh…what you do…doing h….here?" Ryou asked him, stuttering from fear. Here, right in front of him stood the person that had taken control of his body and made him do unimaginable things.

"Ah, Ryou is that really how one should greet an old friend?" The young man asked him, staring at him with a joking grin.

That made Ryou gained some confidence. There was no way that he was letting the spirit in front of him harm the people he cared about. "You and I were never friends," he spit the words through his teeth.

"Well, perhaps not close. Just let me in Ryou. I have a feeling you don't know the full story."

"What full story?"

The Thief King smiled, and slowly passed through a small opening between Ryou and the door frame. He knew that if he was to make amends, it would have to start with his other self.

Ryou saw no way out of what was happening, but it wasn't just that that made him scoot over and let the spirit in. Ryou was curious. He had lived with the sprite for varies years, and yet he knew next to nothing of his past, and why he had let a demon into his soul.

... ... ...

As Atem ran through the streets and into the park, all he could think about was what he was going to say to Mana. Every idea that went through his head sounded pathetic or irrelevant. He wasn't sure how he was going to fix the whole mess. Though, one thing he was sure of was that he was going to have to explain the kiss.

When he neared the lake that sat in the middle of the majestic park, he spotted Mana sitting under a tree staring up at the never ending sky.

He quietly walked towards her. He noticed how beautiful she was. He made sure that the gift he had for her was in his pocket. Atem wished that before all the drama had occurred he had been able to give it to her.

"Just let me go Atem." She said in a small voice.

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Atem please," Mana said her voice nearly breaking, which in turn almost broke Atem's heart.

"Mana…" he was at a loss for words not sure what to say to her.

She closed her eyes and slowly turned her head to him. When she opened them, the look that he gave her was of confusion he didn't know what to do or in this case how to fix. What he did know, was that he had been the one that broke it.

Atem didn't know what to do and as a last result brought the golden chocker in which laid the Millennium Eye. It was securely being held by an elaborate weaving of thin metal wires. It was beautiful, but Mana did not dare to touch it. She was already feeling the magic pull her back and she still didn't want to stay.

For what? All that she had done to help him and all she received was pain. Yes, she might have missed her best friend throughout the years, but was it really worth all this heart break?

"Mana please, take the eye back." Atem was close to begging.

She looked him straight in the eyes, hoping that he didn't see the pain that was coursing through her soul.

"Why should I? I have no reason to stay."

Atem didn't know how to answer that. Well that was a lie, he knew exactly what to say. It would seem a small voice in the back of his was urging him to say certain thoughts. He couldn't shake it off. But, he also knew that it was probably the only way to convince her to stay. Mana was still the only thing that felt solid to him, not mentioning the fact that in a deep unconscious level he was attracted to her.

He opened his mouth several time not being able to think of anything to say. It frustrated him a great deal.

Mana tried not to smile; he was so cute when he was frustrated.

He took in a deep breath and with has much force as possible said the words that were choking in the back of his throat.

"I want you to stay." Atem said in a low voice.

Mana wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly. "What?" She asked.

"I said, that I want you to stay." He repeated in a stronger voice.

Mana was still having trouble believing him and it was mostly due to the fact that no less than an hour ago he had been kissing Tea.

"Why?"

Atem stared at her not believing that she was going to make him spell it out for her.

He closed his eyes, not sure where all of these feeling were originating from.

He sat down and put his left hand on top of hers.

Mana looked at him, and then down to their touching hands. It was then that she noticed the glass ring that was on his left hand. It was a complete shock.

She remember that early that evening she had decided to give it to him, hoping that in some way it might trigger some type of memory to resurface. Though, she did take into account that for some reason it broke her heart. The swirl of color that represented their commitment to one another was gone.

Mana's gaze drifted toward her bracelet and she saw the same thing. She wondered if her worst fear had come true.

"Atem, why are you wearing that ring?" She asked in a small voice.

Atem saw it as his opportunity to avoid his thoughts and maybe if lucky convinced her to take back the Millennium Eye.

"I asked Mahad to fix it, and when I saw what it was I had a small voice in the back of my head telling me to put it on."

"Do you know what this ring represents?" Mana asked bringing their now joined hands up to their faces.

He looked down at his other hand hating the respond that he was going to give her. "Not really, I just know that it has some link to you and that it feels right that I have it on."

Mana gave him a small smile. It was refreshing to hear that some small part of him was still in love with her.

Atem saw her smile and took the chance to ask once again, "Mana please take back the eye."

She sighed. She knew that she couldn't leave now, knowing that there was a part of him that still remembered their pass. It brought with it the hope that she had lost in the past few hours.

Mana reached out and grabbed the eye, not noticing the relief in Atem's expression.

"Fine, I will stay, but under two conditions." Atem tensed not liking the tone in her voice.

"One don't break my heart-"

"Mana I-" She held up her hand.

"No, Atem let me finish." She interrupted him in a small but strong voice. "And second please don't make any promises that you can't keep."

Atem stared at her surprise for what she was saying. He could only nod and hope that he wasn't going to let her down.

... ... ...

The gang ran through the street. Mahad was resisting the urge to call forth his Dark Magician. This situation was not right. His job was to protect the Pharaoh and now both him and his apprentice were nowhere to be found.

"Isis, are you sure they came this way?" He asked as they passed another street.

"Mahad, for the fifth time yes." She responded irritated.

Joey tried to not laugh at their exchange. They fought more than a married couple, but they also acted so in sync at times. Joey cleared his head of all thoughts and focused on finding Atem and Mana. He wondered what could have happen for Mana to run off.

He had notice that there was something much deeper than friendship between those two. It actually brought a smile to his face. He remembered how the Pharaoh had been when he had shared a body with Yugi. He had always been so uptight, but now a days there was a relax look in his eyes and his shoulders weren't as tense. It was most notable when he was in the same room or near Mana.

He looked at Yugi, wondering how his small was taking all this in.

Yugi was glad at the moment that he was a fast runner, not mentioning how small his legs were. It was surprise to see how tall the Pharaoh was, he only hoped that in the next year or so he would reach a growth sprout.

What had also surprised him was Mana. She was fun and spirited. She was the perfect person for his friend. He only hoped that Tea wouldn't take it so bad. Yugi knew that the girl he loves had a crush on his other self. At first it had hurt, but when Atem had had explained to him that he could never feel the same way for her. It had loosened up the tension, but it always pained him to see the adoration in her eyes.

At last they reached the park and Yugi nearly knocked Mahad down. Mahad had stopped without warning. The other consciously peered around him and what they saw brought a smile out of almost everybody.

Atem and Mana had risen up from their sitting positions and Mana was facing away from him. She collected her hair in one hand and brought it over her left shoulder, covering their view of her face. Atem gently wrapped a metallic chocker around her neck and securely clasped it.

Mahad guessed that it had to be the chocker that Atem had spent the last two nights making.

Mana turned around and gave him a small peak on the check, Yugi was positive that Atem most have been blushing a tad bit.

Joey couldn't resist it any longer and called out to them. "Hey you two, get a room." Mana jumped and Atem cursed out his frustration.

Tristan smacked behind his head, silently telling him to shout up. Mahad resisted the urge to laugh. He had been thinking almost the same thing.

Atem and Mana began to walk back to the group. Mana it would seem was slightly blushing and Atem sent a silent glare at the dumb heads.

"Is everything alright?" Isis asked, motherly concern shinning in her eyes.

"Yeah, it was all a misunderstanding." Mana answered, but for some reason it wasn't really believable.

Isis gave Mana a skeptical look, but nodded understanding that it was really none of her business.

As the group began going back in the direction of the game shop, a boy with white hair was seen walking towards them.

Atem, Isis, Mana and Mahad tensed immediately at the site. They all recognized the white long hair from anywhere.

As the figure got closer it multiplied and an exact identical copy of the man was now walking beside the other. This only confused them farther.

Everybody was alerted to the approaching figure, replaying all the torture and pain they had receive from him. Atem wondered how he got back to the realm of the living.

They all took in a breath preparing for what was to come.

**Ok, hope you liked it and if you did please don't be shy to say what you thought about it.**

**Cho, for now!**


	17. An Untold Secret

**Hey everyone, here is the next chapter, XVII. **

**Thank you; AmandaSpardaBVB and crusade332 for following, Chibi-Pandora-home for favoritng, as well as all those of you who have reviewed. **

**To guest, Yes the title sounds good, this fic does represent a new journey for our beloved characters, and that would be very kiyou of you. The new YUGIOH series (GX, Zedal, 5D) or so-so. I really do miss Atem and Yugi. They were the originals and the best. **

**So, I do not own YUGIOH, no matter I much I wish that wasn't true.**

* * *

Bakura's (The Thief King) POV

As Ryou and I walked towards the group of people that were in front of us, I couldn't believe that Mana and Atem were in this realm. The last time the three of us were with the living, it had been a full out war. I could still picture the chaos and terror that had spread throughout all of Egypt.

As we walked closer, I noticed that Mahad and Isis had quietly started chanting a protection spell. The rest of the group had stitched on an expression of fear, disbelief and readiness for the upcoming confrontation... well everybody, but Mana and Atem.

Atem's face was a mixture of confusion and anger; I could almost see the memories playing behind his eyes.

Mana's expression was a different story. Yes there was confusion within her gaze, but I could also see the hope. It was a relief to see that she still remembered.

It was a matter of seconds afterward that Ryou and I were in front of them. Ryou had subconsciously taken a position of protection in front of me, blocking the path of any offensive spell heading my way. It was courageous; I'd give him that, but also stupid. I could deflect or dodge almost any spell they sent my way and even if it hit, I could survive it.

There was an awkward silence that I saw that nobody wanted to break.

Atem took a small look around him, and I knew that he felt the same tension that I was feeling. He shook his head, and I saw that he had come to a decision.

"What do you want?" Atem asked in almost a growl.

A bark of laughter escaped from between my lips. "Ha." I could barely keep myself from staring at Mana. She was as beautiful as I remembered.

I saw little Yugi trying to walk up front. Ah, it would seem that, like me, the Pharaoh had acquired his own body. That was one question already answered; however, it made another thousand pop into my head.

"Is that really how you greet an old friend, Pharaoh?" I asked, humor dripping from every word.

I swore that he growled at me in that instant, but what really called my attention was the smile that showed on Mana's face. I was glad that she had caught up. It made what I had to say next more believable.

"What are you talking about? You were never our friend." Joey barked out. He looked as if he wanted to charge and hit me.

"Well that is technically not true." I simply stated, staring at Mana hoping she would speak up any second.

"What?!" All the living souls exclaimed at once. Atem stayed quiet, evaluating the scene in front of him.

Mana began to look at her friends and at me. "He is not lying." She said in a small but strong voice. I wondered what could have happened for her to sound so lost.

"What?!" This time it was the Pharaoh that spoke out. "Mana what are you talking about?" he asked her in a gentle voice, softly grabbing her shoulder. It almost made me laugh when she gave him an annoyed looked and wiggled her way out of his embrace. It would seem that not everything was sunshine and rainbows in paradise.

In a stronger and firmer voice Mana responded to his question. "Atem," oh, oh, it would seem that someone is in trouble. Mana had only ever called the Pharaoh by his given name when she was pissed off at him. And as if she thought better of it, Mana walked towards me and gave me a hug.

"I'm glad that you are ok." She whispered in my ear.

"Thank you," I whispered back.

"But you have some explaining to do." She said in a stern voice and started to pull away.

As I looked up; I noticed the confused and untrusting stares of the others.

I could have sworn that I saw jealousy spark through Atem's eyes.

"What is going on?" Atem asked.

I chuckled; I had missed messing with him.

Mana smiled and walked back to his side. She smiled at Atem, "Prince, we had many secrets." She said vaguely. He gave her a confused look.

"He has no clue does he?" I asked, trying to figure out how he could have forgotten everything that had happened. It seemed as though he had also forgotten the relationship he had had with Mana.

"No," she responded in a small voice, looking down at her feet. I gave her a questioning look. Mana sighed. "There was an accident with the necklace." She stated in a matter-of-fact voice. I understood the hidden message, she didn't want to talk about it.

I nodded and looked at the rest of them. Tea, Tristan, Joey and Yugi were giving her a questioning look. They must have no clue what all of this mess was about. On the other hand, Mahad, Atem and Isis were giving her a sad look. It made me wonder what could have happened after the confinement of the Pharaoh and myself.

"Well, I am lost. Anybody feel the need to clue us in?" Joey asked sarcastically.

Mana sighed, "Yes, we have to talk."

"About everything," Atem added.

Yugi nodded; there was a secret smile on his face.

"Alright then, but I believe it would be better if we had this conversation in a private place." Mahad stated, turning around and starting to head towards the game shop.

Once we arrived at the game shop, I was still receiving scared and hostile stares from everyone but Mana. I could have sworn that the only reason they didn't jump me was because of Ryou always standing between me and them.

Even before I was able to sit, Atem demanded, "Do get to it." His expression was blank. He reminded me of when he was Pharaoh and the cold bone chilling look that he gave a person when that person was pissing him off.

I had fortunately gotten used to receiving that look. It was just a warning to tread carefully nowadays.

"Ok, ok." I said lazily, ignoring the stares of the others. I wished I could meet Mana's gaze, but she was having a serious conversation with Mahad on the couch next to the door.

Mana looked up at that moment and gave me a reassuring smile.

"So, I think I should start at the beginning."

"Yeah that would be great," Tristan murmured, rolling his eyes at me. I shot him a glare to shut up.

Before I could continue, Mana spoke up. "No Bakura, let me start with explaining how we met." She said, and walked over to sit next to Atem.

I gave her a curt nod to continue. I was curious to see how they acted around one another.

"Bakura, Atem and I were friends back in Egypt; way before the attack happened."

"What?!" Everybody exclaimed. I couldn't help but smirk.

Mana glared at all of them for interrupting her and continued. "As I said earlier, prince and I had many secrets. One of them was our friendship with the thief king. We met him one day, when he was sneaking into the palace. He was so fucking arrogant."

"Yeah I remember how Atem almost knocked me over to the opposing wall." I added in a grim voice.

Mana coughed in an obvious attempt to cover up her laughter.

"So after that, by some weird chain of events, we became friends," I finished. I knew that they, especially Mana at the moment, wouldn't want me to tell them about me discovering their love affair.

Everybody turned towards Atem, hoping for him to give them some type of confirmation or denial. He only shrugged his shoulders.

"That still doesn't answer the question of what you are doing here." Isis said in cold tone.

"I'm here to make amends..." I stated simply.

"…and to tell my story." I added as an afterthought.

Everybody stayed quiet and looked at me. Ryou already knew most of it; I had explained it to him when I saw him earlier that evening.

"As we stated before, the three of us were friends in the palace. Mana and Atem started teaching me about shadow magic once they noticed that I had a knack for it."

"What, are you two insane? Did you not know who it was you were dealing with?" Mahad exploded.

Mana shook her head and stood up. "We knew who he was and where he had come from, but we just felt that it would be better for him to be able to control his shadow powers." She told him firmly. Her tone warned him not to push it.

"As the years passed and we became closer and closer, I told them about my past and how Kul Elna had been attacked and all my family and friends were murdered." All the Egyptians in the room cringed at that, I pretended to ignored them. "Of course it came to them as quite the shock. Yet the years passed and we were all closed. Unfortunately near the time Atem was crowned Pharaoh and for various other reasons, though I am not making excuses, I left myself vulnerable and the demon Zorc entered my soul. After that, you guys know the rest of the story."

Mana gave me a thankful look. She must have been glad that I didn't say anything about her and Atem.

I saw Atem shaking his head. Whatever was going on inside his spiky head was seriously stressing him out.

"Ok then, Mahad could you do me the favor of explaining the rest to them," he gave a small wave, indicating the gang. "I am near dead tired and I can barely keep myself up." He said in a wary voice.

"Don't worry about it, Atem. Just go and rest, you've had a hectic day." Mahad quickly reassured him.

Atem nodded his thanks and began to leave the room. Just when he was closing the door I couldn't help it. "Hey, where am I supposed to sleep?"

I heard him sputter out a few curses and stuck his head through the door. He wore an evil smirk which should've been my clue to shut up.

"You see that couch?" He asked innocently.

"Prince," Mana said sternly. She must have figured out where he was going with this.

I idiotically answered. "Yes," I answered slowly, uncertain what would be the correct answer.

Atem smiled and Mana was shaking her head in disbelief.

"That's your bed." He stated simply and walked out the room. I heard a door close and that was when Joey and Tristan broke out laughing.

"Wow that was a good one." Joey said between laughs.

"I know," Tristan was almost lying on the floor. Even Yugi was fighting off a smile.

"I never knew that the Pharaoh could be so devious." Tea said looking at where the Pharaoh had been standing.

"You have no idea." Was Mana's only response before she left the room.

It took a few minutes before everyone calmed down and we sat there waiting for Mahad to begin his explanation.

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**So there you have it, you see in my opinion Bakura could have been a good guy that only made one wrong choice in his life. **

**Hope you enjoyed it and if you did and want to know more, I welcome you to go and read my other fic 'Moments' were you will get to read more about Atem, Bakura and Mana's past.**

**Au Revoir for now!**


	18. Her Choice to Make

**Hey all you people. Sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. End of the school year is always the heaviest time.**

**Though the good news is that vacations are here, meaning that I will be able to update in a more regular bases. **

**Leah Yamaguchi- You're welcome.  
**

**Agua girl 007- well for me it always seemed that there had to be more to the character and that it one way to understand how he knew so much about the palace secrets and their personal and private life. Plus when he isn't annoying and teasing and causing trouble, he will be the voice of reason in matters that Mahad can't be involved with. **

**NanohaXFateXAsuna- Sorry it is taking so long to update and I do hope you enjoy this chap. But i think this story has a long way to go before it reaches its end and 'Moments' is directly connected to this one. So as long as this one is in progress so will 'Moments'be. :)**

**In a another note, yesterday was a happy day for all Musers. It was Matt Bellamy's B'day. I know I know most of you don't care but hey!**

**Thank you Leah Yamaguchi for following and favoriting. As well as yaminogemu99 for following.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own YUGIOH**

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Atem's POV

A week had passed since Bakura's arrival; and we had no idea how he got through the gates of the realms. The only thing that the idiot would tell us was that one second he was being judged by Ma'at and the next he was waking up in an alley a few blocks from Ryou's apartment.

What annoyed me the most was that Mana would spend most of her free time with him; and whenever I neared the room they were in, they would automatically become quiet. It was frustrating to say the least; and perhaps, something that I would never admit out loud, I was also somewhat jealous.

"Mr. Motou!" I heard someone calling out to me, shocking me out of my thoughts.

When I looked up from my notes, I was met with an annoyed look. It would seem that Mr. Everheart had been trying to get my attention for a while.

"Yes?"

He gave me a patient smile and repeated his question. "I asked you, if you could please tell the class what the inscription on the board translates to?"

I nodded and looked over at the board. It was a simple greeting and one that I was closely familiar with.

"The exact translation would be 'son of Ra, I ask for an audience.' And the meaning behind the statement would be that a person outside the royal court is asking for a private meeting with the Pharaoh."

Mr. Everheart simply nodded and turned back to the rest of the class, giving them a more detailed explanation of what I had just described. It was in that moment that I noticed the girl sitting next to me was shaking from laughter.

"Mana, are you okay?"

She shook her head and gave me an amused look. I patiently waited for her to gain control of herself and to explain to me what was so damn funny.

"Atem, do you know how many times he called your name before you looked up?" Mana asked and I gave her a small shrug. "Around ten and I would bet you all my Ka that he expected you to get the answer wrong."

"I still don't see what's so funny." I stated in a neutral tone.

She gave me a small smile. "You've always been a know-it-all." she stated bluntly and continued without giving me a chance to respond. "And when one of your teachers asked you a question when they suspected you weren't paying attention, you'd somehow answer it correctly; it was slightly annoying." She finished off, giving me a pointed look.

I had to resist the urge to defend myself, but I knew that it was pointless. We stayed quiet after that and for the rest of the day, barely speaking a word to one another. It wasn't because I was angry at her or anything; I just didn't know what to talk about.

... ... ...

Once the day passed and we had all gone to our respective rooms, I couldn't ignore my thoughts about Mana and Bakura. After getting caught by Mr. Everheart, I had pushed those thoughts as far back into my mind as possible. However, now that I was in the silence of my room, I just couldn't shake them off.

My mind was spinning. The more I tried to suppress my thoughts, the more I thought about her. Mana had been getting more distant and I didn't like it. It felt strange; I knew that we used to always spend our free time together, but it made me wonder. What could have happened for her to distance herself from me?

Luckily after much struggling and turning, I was able to fall into a restless sleep.

**"**_**Mana, are you sure about this?" I asked.**_

**"**_**Yes, Atem, I am completely sure." **_

_**I noticed that her voice was laced with impatience, and I could understand why. It must have been the 13**__**th**__** time that I had asked her the same question. **_

_**She turned around from where she was placing the candles in a circular form and gave me a level look.**_

**"**_**Atem, I do not know how else to tell you that I am positive about doing this."**_

**"**_**But tying your life to an inanimate object-"**_

**"**_**Isn't it the same thing you are planning to do?"**_

**"**_**Yes, but-"**_

**"**_**No buts, Atem, I am doing this and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind."**_

_**I stared at her. She was so stubborn, but at the same time she was the most loyal and trustworthy person I knew.**_

**"**_**Alright Mana, but tell me. Why is it that you want to do this?" **_

_**Mana gave me a look and her eyes shone with a light that I couldn't name. **_

**"**_**It's simple Atem. It is because I love you."**_

I woke up sweating.

I couldn't believe the dream I had just had. Could it have been real or was it just wishful thinking on my part? I will admit, and only to myself, that from the minute I entered the afterlife, I felt a deep rooted connection to the high spirited girl. Though, for the life of me I could not remember much about my time with Mana.

I turned and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling. From my peripheral vision, I noticed the time. It was just past five in the early morning and I knew that around an hour or so the others would start getting up.

I wished I could talk to Mana about all of this, but every time during the past week that I had gotten close to her and asked; she would tell me that she couldn't talk about it, then get up and walk away.

I thought about going to either Mahad or Isis; however, I got the feeling that they were as clueless about what had happened between me and Mana. That only left me with Yugi, Joey, Tristan or Tea.

I quickly eliminated Tea from that list. She wasn't talking to me; and after our last conversation, I knew that it wouldn't be the most appropriate thing to do. That left me with the three guys, Tristan and I were never that close and I had the feeling that he wouldn't know what to say. Joey… well… we were close but reflecting on how things are with him and Mai, I highly doubted that he would have any useful advice. That left Yugi… and as much as he was a younger brother to me; he still got embarrassed when asked about girls.

I groaned from frustration and decided to get out of the room. I silently got dressed in my usual attire; dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt and black boots, trying to not wake Mahad that was sleeping on the bed that was across my own.

I headed to the kitchen, hoping to find something small to eat and to forget my earlier thoughts and dream.

Once I had poured myself a glass of juice and made a small bowl of fruit salad, I sat down at the kitchen bar. I lost myself in my earlier thoughts, absently eating my made up breakfast.

"You know you can't ignore me forever?" A sarcastic voice snapped me out of my reverie.

I turned and gave the source of that voice an annoyed glare. "What do you want, Bakura?"

"Wow, it talks!" He stated, going over to the fridge and taking a drink directly from a carton of milk.

"Bakura…" I said irritated by his sarcasm.

The thief king ignored me, closing the fridge door; he walked over and sat on the stool next to mine.

"So tell me, Atem. What's got you so deep in thought?" Bakura inquired, taking another swing from the milk carton.

"Hum, what makes you think I am going to talk to you about it?" I asked rhetorically.

He gave me a bored look. "Because I am the only one that knows about your past with our brown headed friend who's willing to talk."

I hated to admit it but he had a point.

"Fine," I said, giving in.

I ignored the smug smile that was plastered on his face.

"Since I first saw her…"

I told him everything; the story about the necklace and how we came up to this realm. I even told him about the little incident that happened between me and Tea, and the discussion I had had with Mana at the park before he and Ryou showed up. However, I did leave out the specifics about the spell and the dream I had.

He gave a low whistle and stared at me in shock.

"I leave you two alone for five millennia and everything falls to pieces." He said with fake shock in his voice. "So from everything I gathered; you have recently begun to understand the relationship that the two of you use to have?"

I gave him a small nod and the frown he had between his brows deepened.

"Man, this is going to be tougher than I thought." He murmured and before I could ask him what the Gods he was referring to, he continued in a more conversational tone. "Well, I'll tell you one story and I do hope that it answers some of your questions.

_"_A few months after we met, Mana and you went on one of your Nile trips. You guys were gone for two days; it was actually one of your shortest trips really. And when you guys returned it was evident that something was wrong between you two. Mana eyes were red as though she had been crying and your expression was really dark.

"Remember Atem this happened two summers before you became Pharaoh. You still had some freedom and your father still hadn't become so strict about your lessons."

"The instant you guys dismounted your horses, Mana ran to her room and you went to Ra knows where to sulk. When night came I snuck into the central halls, where the royal family and magicians' bedchambers resided.

"I knew better than to go to you to figure out what had happened. So I walked over to Mana's room. Luckily for me the door was unlocked.

_Flashback_

"_Mana, what happened?" Bakura asked in what he hoped was a comforting voice._

"_Oooh, Bakura" she cried out. Her voice laced with anger, frustration, despair and hurt. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?" _

_He walked over to her and placed an arm around her. He hoped that it would provide her with some type of comfort. _

"_What happened?"_

_She took in a shaky breath and in a low voice explained. _

"_We got to the river in record time and after we got off the horses we began to set up camp. We originally planned to stay out there for five solar cycles, but we got into an argument." _

"_About?" He asked. He knew that she was trying to leave as much of the details out as possible. _

"_About us!"_

_Bakura gave her a confused look that she didn't see. Fortunately he didn't have to ask her to elaborate._

"_Everything was fine. We were kissing-"_

"_Please Mana, less details when it comes to that stuff. I don't need the nightmare." He interrupted her, a shudder going up his spine after his last statement._

_He heard a small laugh escape her lips. A small grin appeared on his lips. At least she was starting to smile and he noticed at that moment that Mana had stopped crying._

"_So things started to get heated, but before we could go any further. He pulled away. I, of course, asked what was wrong and you want to know what his answer was?"_

"_He said he couldn't do it, that he wasn't sure what the others would think about it." _

"_And what did you say?"_

"_That it wasn't his choice to make and that I knew what I was getting into the moment I realized that I had feelings for him, and that I didn't care what the priests thought about us. After that I walked over to my mare and rode off." She said the last part with a tone of defiance._

"_Why would the priests disapprove of you two as a couple?" Bakura unconsciously asked. _

_Mana gave him a patient look and in a neutral tone, as if reading from a papyrus scroll recited. "The royal blood shall be carried down by a female of the blood, and, if no female exists then it will be the Pharaoh or Prince's duty to marry within the noble class."_

"_I do not understand. What does that have to do with the priests?"_

_Mana shook his arm off and stood up._

"_Bakura, the members of the royal family are expected to marry within the royal blood or at the very least a noble woman. If by chance a woman outside of the royal family or noble class was to conceive a child of the Pharaoh or Prince outside of marriage, the kingdom would be outraged._

"_Plus the woman would never be taken seriously and the people of Egypt wouldn't accept the child as their Prince or Princess. We also have to take into account that without the blessing of the priests a marriage between Atem and me would never be legal."_

_Bakura gapped at Mana. _

_The priests at times were too harsh and yes he could understand Atem's worries, but didn't he and Mana deserve the chance of happiness? _

"_Are you serious?" Bakura couldn't help asking._

"_Deadly," Mana responded, an exasperated tone laced in her voice._

_End of Flashback_

"You and Mana had an argument about your worries of the priests accepting the relationship that existed between the two of you. You could say that she was never happy whenever it was brought up."

"I'm still not." A female voice stated.

We both jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to stare at her in amazement. She was leaning against the frame of the door. Her arms crossed protectively in front of her chest.

"You shouldn't be telling him this."

"He has a right to know Mana." Bakura replied in the same tone.

It was annoying to hear them talking about me when I was sitting right in front of them.

I turned to Bakura, "Thanks for the little history lesson." I said coldly and stood up from where I was sitting. I grabbed the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink. My mind was lost in the story that Bakura had just told me.

The pieces were starting to fall into place. The past was becoming little less foggy, but what worried me now was the present. I was finally starting to understand the relationship that Mana and I had back in Egypt, though the question remained do I still feel the same way? Better yet, did she still feel the same way about me?

Millennia have passed and it wouldn't be uncommon for her to move on. I would actually hope she had. It wasn't because I never had feelings for her. It was because it would make me feel less guilty for leaving her.

As I turned and passed Mana, I stopped.

"I'm sorry Mana, for everything." I whispered in a voice that only she could hear.

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**Alright there you go. Hope you enjoyed it and if you feel that things are starting to move to fast please tell me and REVIEW!**

**Au Revoir, for now.**


	19. Reconnection With the Pass

**Hey people, here is Chapter XIX, drama ahead there will be jumps of change of scenery between Egypt and Domino City. The story is going to be Third person Point of View and as an added bonus this chap is longer than usual taking into account that there is a lot going on plus I doubt you guys will be happy if I left you with a huge cliff hanger and it has been a while since my last update so a little present for you. **

**Thank you to those of you who have Review.**

**I do not own Yugioh, nor any off the characters.**

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Dreams (Flashback) -_**Dream**_

Author's Notes- **AN**

Flashback-_Flashback_

Gods- Gods

Inner Thoughts-_Thoughts_

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**If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be.**

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It was close to midnight in Egypt when a faint pulse was felt throughout the land. It passed through the hills and was stifle into the howling wind, searching for the source of it power.

**Domino City**

3rd POV

It was at that time that she felt her heart stretch out and connect with an object outside her body. She was still leaning against the doorframe that led to the kitchen. She fell to her knees clutching her chest from the pain of her heart ripping in two.

A flow of energy that she was quite familiar with surged through her body and she let out a small gasp.

It was then that Bakura lifted his head from his hand and looked at her. The sight in front of him left him speechless. He had never seen Mana with such an expression on her face. It was a mixture of confusion, pain, and joy.

He ran over to her and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Mana, what's wrong?"

Mana could barely hear him. The loud beating of her heart demanded all of her attention.

It was at that moment that Mahad entered the kitchen and found them.

"What the…?" he started to say, but was interrupted by an ear splintering scream.

The joy that had been shining from her eyes vanished at that moment.

Mana felt as though her heart was being yanked out of her body and in a matter of seconds everybody had gathered into the small kitchen.

Surprisingly, Atem was keeping his distance. Deep down he was fighting the urge to push Bakura away and kneel down beside her.

Isis was staring down at the poor girl, and it pained her to see her whimpering from some unseen weapon. She was standing next to her Pharaoh. It surprised her that Bakura was the one that was holding Mana up and not Atem.

Mana's harsh pants were starting to return to a normal rhythm, _'F__ocus on you breathing. Nothing else exists but that. The pain within your chest is not real.'_She kept repeating those three sentences over and over in her head. Just when she felt the pressure leaving her chest, a burning sensation spread throughout her skin. She made a gasp of pain before she could hold it back.

Atem heard her gasp and his whole body tensed. He could barely stand seeing her in pain and hated the fact that he did not know what to do about it.

Every fiber of her being was screaming in pain and what was worse was that her body was stubbornly fighting off slipping into an unconscious state. She had the feeling that the pain wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She lifted her face and did her best to mask the agony she was in and out of habit she searched for the face that normally provided her comfort.

The instance that their eyes met, Atem could barely fight the need to go to her. The look she had was of slight discomfort, but he knew that the pain was deeper and greater than that.

"Please," she whispered to him. It was her one worded plea.

He instantly knew what she was asking of him. Mana was asking him to relive her of the pain she was feeling and unfortunately she was willing to go into the darkness of her mind.

Atem pushed himself off the wall and walked over to where Bakura and Mana were kneeling.

Yugi watched in confusion and fear. He wondered what could be causing the girl in front of him so much pain. However, what had surprised him more was the indifference that he saw on Atem's face. Yugi would have guessed that there was more between those two, but what he was seeing now was a contradiction to that very idea.

As he watched Atem walk towards Mana, Yugi saw a flicker of emotion. It passed so fast that he wasn't able to identify what it had been. Atem knelt down beside her and placed his arm around Mana's shoulders. Bakura took his hand off her should and stood up, giving the pair room.

Mana leaned into Atem's embrace, drawing the strength that he was offering her.

"Mana tell me where it hurts." Atem asked her in a soft voice. He was positive that only she could hear him.

"Everywhere," she answered in a pained voice. It sounded more like a whimper than anything else.

Atem nodded and lean closer to her ear. In a whispered tone he chanted a spell that he knew would force her into a deep sleep.

_**Mana stood in the center of a circle of candles. Her glass bracelet was swirling with color, pulsing heat into her very being.**_

**"**_**Mana, I must ask you one more time. Are you sure about this?" Atem asked her, his eyes capturing her gaze.**_

**"**_**Absolutely," she responded without blinking. Though deep down she was nervous, anything could happen. Her own body could reject the connection and she may die feeling unimaginable pain.**_

_**Atem nodded and with a flick of his wrist the candles turned on. He saw the determination written all over her face.**_

_**The candles created a warm glow. From afar it would seem as a doom made out of Ra's light. They had decided that it would be better for them to do this in their secret garden. The less people who knew of what they were doing the better.**_

_**Mana was dressed in a simple black cloak with no decorations or marks that indicated what her status was. Atem on the other hand wore an exquisite golden robe that had a white border on the sleeves and bottom. It represented that he was the caster and held all the power in the following ritual.**_

_**Atem bent down and grabbed both her hands. As he straightened up he brought their hands up so they hung between the two. Atem in a neutral voice began reciting the binding incantation, and as he finished he looked at Mana with a sad look in his eyes.**_

**"**_**Remember Mana, you will never be able to part from the necklace. If you do, your heart and Ba will ache until you reunite with it and the power that fills it courses through you once again. Do you understand?"**_

**"**_**Yes Prince, I do." And she did, before tonight Mana had read the spell and its binding, sealing and creation over a hundred times. She was prepared for what she was doing and she knew that she would never let anything happen to it. She understood the risks and the implications, by right the ritual they were performing was more binding then any known matrimonial bond.**_

**Luxor, Egypt**

In a hidden cave in Deir el-Bahari, near the Theban Tomb of King Neferu II's wife, laid the burial site of the Priestess and Keeper of the Pharaoh's Soul.

It was from this site that the strange energy was originating, drawing the attention from the few who have felt the power of the shadow realm.

"Sister, did you feel that?" A white- blonde haired teen asked the woman with straight black hair.

"Yes, brother." The woman replied, looking around trying to pin point the source of the energy.

"What do you think it means?"

The woman stayed quiet staring out into the distance.

"Sister?"

The woman shook her head and gave the teen a worried look.

"Brother, I believe that the shadow games have returned. We must go warn the others."

**Domino City**

"Yugi, do you know how Mana is doing?" Joey asked.

After Mana passed out and Atem carried her into her room, he hadn't let anybody enter the room, except Yugi. All Atem had been doing for a while was sitting at the edge of the bed and murmuring relaxation spells. Or that is what Mahad told them he was murmuring about.

"No change, she is still the same." Yugi answered, looking helplessly at his hands. He had never seen the Pharaoh so lost. It had been a small miracle that he had let him enter the room, though it had taken the threat of Joey and Tristan breaking down the door.

Mahad and Isis were in a far off couch, having a hushed argument. It annoyed Joey to no end. Those two were full of secrets. It had taken the danger of Mana being sent to the shadow realm and the Pharaoh's overwhelming concern for Mana for them to tell Tea, Yugi, Tristan and Joey about the glass necklace, the spell, the shadow games and the millennium items.

Joey looked over at Tristan, noticing that Tristan too was sending the pair the same evil look that Joey was.

Tristan was just as tired of all the lies and secrets that the four Egyptians were keeping. With a small nod to Joey, they walked over to Mahad and Isis.

Yugi noticed his friends' posture and he realized that something was going on. He nudged Tea with his elbow and with a slight tilt of his head.

Tea turned in the direction that Yugi was indicating and saw the expression that Joey and Tristan wore. This was not going to be good.

"Hey Priests, as cozy as you two look, we are tired of all the secrecy. So do us all a favor and speak up." Joey growled in a cold menacing voice.

Yugi and Tea rapidly walked over to them and stepped in between the two pairs, trying to put some distance between the boys and the priests.

Mahad and Isis looked at them unfazed. They had faced deadlier opponents than the two teenage boys that were standing in front of them. The Pharaoh had a deadlier glare than they did.

"Well…?" Tristan demanded in the most menacing voice in could muster.

Yugi looked between the Priests and his best friends. He turned his gaze towards Mahad. "Do you guys have any idea what is wrong with Mana?"

Mahad stared at Yugi. Yugi reminded Mahad of Atem when he was a small child, filled with innocence and naivety. A small part of Mahad felt protective of the boy, though he quickly discarded it, his responsibility was the Pharaoh not some teen.

Isis and Mahad exchanged a look, and then she turned to the others. "We have our suspicions, but either way they're just guesses."

"And what would those guesses be?" Joey asked in the same tone as before, though his shoulders had relaxed a bit. He also knew that whatever guesses they had would be much closer to the truth then any guess that he could come up with.

Isis sighed. It was weird how much she reminded Yugi of Ishizu, yet the two were very different. He turned his stare to Isis and waited for her to explain.

"We believe that the pain Mana is feeling is being cause by the ancient spell that binds her to the necklace of the Pharaoh."

The four of them shared a look of confusion, though they may know that Atem's memories resided within a necklace that he had made had made thousands of years back. They could fathom how in the Gods name it could cause someone so much pain.

Before Tea, Yugi, Tristan or Joey could ask the priests anymore questions. They were all startled by a high pitched ring.

Yugi looked between his friends and the two Egyptians, hoping that they wouldn't kill each other while he went to answer the phone. With a small shake of his head, Yugi quickly walked over to where the phone had been resting on the kitchen counter.

It was on the sixth ring when Yugi answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Yugi." The voice on the end of the line answered.

Yugi noticed that whoever it was had a heavy accent, though he couldn't remember from where he had heard it before.

"Um…. Hi," he said hesitantly not sure to who he was talking to.

"Yugi, it's me Marik."

"Oh, hey Marik, how have you've been?" Yugi asked, raising his voice for the others to know who he was talking to.

Joey, Tea and Tristan turned toward Yugi giving him question looks; while Isis and Mahad stayed where they were and began to have a hushed conversation.

"Good personally, but well… we have a situation here."

The gang noticed how Yugi's expression changed; one moment it was relaxed the next anxiety started leaking into his features.

Tea looked between the guys and the priests, deciding that they weren't going to argue anytime soon. The priests were completely ignoring what was happening around them, discussing something in Egyptian while Joey and Tristan were paying more attention to the conversation that Yugi was having with Marik.

So with a shake of her head, she walked over to Yugi and placed her hand on his shoulder. When he turned to her, Tea with her eyes asked him what was wrong.

Yugi only gave her a shrug, he himself wasn't sure. After Marik had stated his last sentence the line had gone quiet; Yugi imagined that Marik must have been discussing something with his sister or his adoptive brother, Odion.

It was a few seconds later when Yugi heard something from the other end of the call.

"Hey Yugi, it's Ishizu."

"Hi Ishizu, so Marik tells me that you guys have a situation."

"Yeah, since an hour and half ago my brother and I began to feel these weird pulsations of energy." Ishizu began to explain in a careful voice, hoping to Isis that she was wrong.

"Yeah," Yugi said, urging Ishizu to continue.

"Yugi," she began to say in a stronger and firmer voice. "The energy, it reminds me of the magic of the shadow games."

"The shadow games," Yugi repeated, looking over at Mahad and Isis. He saw how they both tensed at the mention of the dark games.

"Yes Yugi, we called you to give you a heads up," she paused chewing over what she wanted to say next. "And also to ask you if you know anything about what is going on."

Yugi took in a deep breath before he answered, "Ishizu it's a long story and well it truly isn't mine to tell."

Yugi heard a hiss of breath coming from the other side of the phone.

"Yugi what is going on?" She asked, anger lacing her voice.

"The Pharaoh has returned." Yugi responded staring at the two priests. It was then that Mahad and Isis turned to stare at Yugi. Their looks told him that they didn't appreciate the revealing of Atem's return into the realm of the living.

"What?!" Ishizu exclaimed not able to believe that the nameless Pharaoh had returned. She could still remember when the gates to the afterlife had opened and she saw him walk through them. She had been sure that that had been the end of it.

"Like I said before, Ishizu, it is a long story."

Ishizu was speechless; she couldn't believe it to be honest. Her first question was, how in Osiris' name had he crossed the barriers of life and death, but it been immediately followed by the worry of how all of this was going to affect Marik. He had a dark past with the millennium items and the shadow games.

Atem stared at everybody in the room. He had been standing there for a good portion of the conversation that Yugi was having with Ishizu. From what Yugi was saying, Atem figured it had something to do with his return to this realm and the return of the shadow games; though he wondered how it could be connected to Ishizu? He figured that Odion, Marik, and she had stayed in Egypt after the events at the Temple of the Realm of the Dead.

_'Egypt but of course!'_ Atem thought shaking his head not believing how thick he was being. Before he had exited the corridor, Mana had woken up. Unfortunately the pain had not stopped, but as always Mana was too stubborn for her own good. Before she had let Atem cast the sleeping spell, she had told him about the binding spell that connected her to the necklace.

_Her breathing was labored; he could see the pain that she was desperately trying to hide._

"_Atem the necklace-"_

"_Don't worry about that now Mana, just breathe and tell me. Do you know what is causing you to be in such pain?" Atem said, not taking his eyes off her face. It was literally killing him to see her in so much pain._

_Mana shook her head, making the world spin around her. Her hands tightened around something soft and warm. It was at this moment that she realized that Atem was holding her hand; it grounded her somehow and it gave her the strength she needed to suppress the pain that was coursing throughout her body._

"_Atem, when we created the necklace as a precaution we bound it to my Ba. It was necessary so that the seal could have a continuous flow of energy. Unfortunately a painful side effect of the binding was that if the necklace and I were ever separated, my Ba and heart will ache until I reunite with it."_

"_Then why did the pain only start now?"_

_Mana gave him a small smile, at the same time giving his hand a small squeeze that surprisingly he returned._

"_The power of the seal must still exist. Your memories once scattered and lost throughout the Egyptian sands must be coming together, bringing the necklace back into this realm. Prince, we've got to go and retrieve it." She said the last part in a near whisper._

"_No Mana," Atem said shaking his head. He couldn't imagine Mana walking around to who knows where in search of a small glass necklace._

"_I'm serious Prince; promise me that you won't leave me here."_

_The look she gave him nearly broke his heart. It was of the look of a girl that didn't want to be left behind, at least not again. "Atem please, I can't go through that again." Mana's voice broke on the last word. The pain was becoming too much for her to handle._

"_But Mana the pain?"_

"_Ask Mahad, he must know of a spell that could at least suppress it to a manageable level." Mana said between harsh pants of air. Mana had to ignore the urge to scream._

_Atem saw how Mana's face twisted in pain. "I promise Mana."_

_And with that, he murmured the sleeping spell. Mana's features instantly relaxed ,though her body wouldn't. Atem wiggled his hand free from her grasp and stood up to leave the room. At the last second he stared at Mana._

'_She didn't deserve all the pain she was feeling and what's worse it's that it's partially my fault.' Atem couldn't help but think. He swore at that moment that he would search the entire globe for the glass necklace, not because of his memories but to relive Mana of the pain._

"Yugi!" Atem called out

The room went silent and all eyes turned to him. They all had the same question within them, was Mana alright? Atem gave them a small nod, but other than that he kept his attention on Yugi.

"Tell Ishizu that I'll explain everything to her when we arrive in Egypt."

That earned him a few surprised looks; however Yugi nodded and relayed the information to Ishizu. Atem could tell that she wanted more information, but Yugi just kept giving her small nos and shaking his head as if she could see him.

Few minutes later, Yugi had finished his call with the Ishtars though it was obvious that they had wanted to know more about what was going on.

"So Atem tell us, what is this plan to go to Egypt and also how in God's name is this related to Mana?" Joey asked, not even bothering for a more subtle approach.

Atem closed his eyes, but try as he might, he couldn't get rid of the pain he had seen in Mana's eyes. He knew that he was going to have to be completely honest with them.

"It's the necklace; back when we made it, Mana bound her Ba to it. The pain that she is suffering from is her Ba trying to reconnect with it. The only way to stop the pain is to reunite her Ba to the necklace and I am guessing that the resting place of the necklace is in Egypt."

* * *

Isis (also spelled Aset) – Goddess of magical power and healing, "She of the Throne" who was represented as the throne

Osiris (also spelled Wesir) – God of the underworld after Hathor and Anubis, fertility, and agriculture – the oldest son of the Sky Goddess, Nut, and the Earth God, Geb

Temple of the Realm of the Dead – the final resting place of the shrine of the Millennium Stone

* * *

**So there you go guys. This chapter includes the grand entrance of Marik and Ishizu and a small mention here and there of Odion. **

**Oh and for the record and to clear some confusion the QOUTE at the beginning about letting the one you love go. If you see the last few chapters plus what is coming up next and especially the last chapter at the end. You will realize that both Mana and Atem in some way let the other one go. They aren't forcing one another to love each other but seeing that if they want to re-establish whatever relationship they had in the past they most let the other person come to them. So that is what I am saying with the quote. With LETTING GO of the person, no matter how you feel over doing such a thing it is a sign that you truly and unselfishly love said person. **

**So tell me what you think about it and if any of the characters feel OOC.**

**Please REVIEW!**


	20. Departure

**Hey you guys. I know I know it been awhile. But hey this is a really long chapter and a lot of shit is goin to go down. So here is chapter XX!**

**Thank you paradoxsteel for following and favoriting. As well as all that have reviewed!**

**Atemu'sSis- deep down I agree with you, but love is never easy and unfortunately any girl would have over reacted in that situation and would have done whatever to get back at the poor boy.**

**Aqua girl 007- let us all hope though I am not sure how long this story will be. I am just letting it flow. Letting the characters lead me. **

**I do not own Yugioh, its all Takahashi doing.**

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"Pharaoh, are you sure about this?" Isis asked.

Atem knew that it was a long shot and who knew where in Egypt it was hidden.

"As sure as any of us can be," Atem replied. "Plus, it would be the most logical place. Both Mana and I died in those ancient sands."

Atem's response was received with uncertain smiles, but he knew that it was their only hope.

"So we are going to Egypt!" Joey exclaimed.

"No," Atem interrupted him before he could continue. "The five of us are going. You guys are staying here. Who knows what type of dangers we may face and I am not asking you guys to risk your lives for me again."

The gang stared at him in shock. It was Yugi that broke the silence. "What are you insane? We are not staying here. We are going with you, Pharaoh. So deal with it. Remember - we stick together - that was how it was in the past and that is how it is going to be now."

"Plus, how do you even plan on getting to Egypt?" Joey added giving Atem a smirk.

Atem shook his head and sent a look to Mahad, silently asking him for help. However, the magician only shrugged.

Atem glared at his old friends and sighed. "Fine, but tell me what is your plan for getting to Egypt."

"A plane," Joey responded smugly.

Atem lifted an eyebrow, waiting to see if Joey saw the fatal flaw of his plan.

Luckily, he was saved from responding, when Tea voiced her opinion. "Um... Joey, you do realize that half of the people that are traveling don't have a passport, a birth certificate or any type of modern identification?"

"Duh, I've thought of that." He said, standing up and heading over to the laptop on the kitchen counter. "That's why we are going to ask rich boy for a ride." He finished, turning his attention to the screen.

"Joey, you are an idiot. Why would he ever lone us his private jet? No wait, better question, what makes you think that he's even going to answer your call?" Tristan asked Joey sarcastically.

"Simple, I'm going to call Mokuba; you and I know that where one Kaiba is the other isn't far behind."

To Atem's surprise, the soft noise that told one that the call was connecting beeped throughout the room.

Everybody hurried and gathered around Joey.

Mahad and Isis stared at the bright screen, and then a 13-year-old boy with long black hair came into view. They both could barely hide their shock, though they didn't ask any questions. They understood that there were too many things in the modern world that they would never understand. Unlike Mana that is, she was always bombarding the Pharaoh with questions.

"Joey how many times do I have to tell you that we are not planning to build a roller coaster with a Red Eye Black Dragon theme!" Mokuba exclaimed not paying attention to the screen in front of him. His brother was at the desk behind him, telling him about his plan to start a school where kids could learn how to duel.

"Um, Mokuba, as much as I would love to argue how bad of an idea that is, we are calling to ask your brother for a small favor." Joey said nervously, scratching the back of his neck and not meeting the stares that his friends were sending him.

"Yeah not going to happen, he's in the middle of..." Mokuba began to say, turning to give the boy a stern look. As much as he liked Yugi, they had to get out of the habit of asking Seto for favors. His line of thought trailed off when he noticed who the people that were standing behind Joey were.

"Hum, Joey why are there two Yugis?"

"Wha-" Joey began to ask him, turning around and realizing what he was talking about. "Oh, you remember the Pharaoh?" He asked the younger Kaiba and he continued, not giving him a chance to answer. "Well that's him," he said, pointing to the taller more mature looking spiky haired boy. "It would seem that he left some unfinished business before he entered the Afterlife and needs your brother's help."

Mokuba stared at the screen, barely believing what he was hearing. "Uh..." he began, not able to think of a good response. "Let me see what I can do." He murmured, picking up his laptop and placing it in front of his brother, which barely caught his attention. Seto was so busy talking to investors on the other line that he didn't even look up.

"Brother," Mokuba called to him, waving his hand in front of his face. Luckily, that caught his attention.

Kaiba looked over at his brother and lifted an eyebrow, silently asking him what he wanted.

"I have some people that want to speak with you; and they believe that you will be interested. I told them that it was highly unlikely but they are very persistent." He told him as carefully as possible. Mokuba knew that if he mentioned that it was Yugi and his friends, Seto wouldn't even think of hearing them out.

Kaiba lifted his finger in the universal sign of one moment. Mokuba released a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Look I don't know how many times I have to tell you, the idea is that it will be open to any duelist that can prove his or her skills and show that they have potential to become a champion." Kaiba remained quiet for a few seconds, listening to the unknown person.

"Yes, when we have a conformation on the location we can talk about the capacity of the place." He said in a bored voice.

With a few more words and making sure that the person to who he was talking to knew what was expected of him, Seto ended the call.

He gestured for his brother to turn the screen. When he saw who it was, he looked at Mokuba with a scowl.

Kaiba shook his head and turned his attention to the group that was waiting for him to speak.

"What do you dweebs want?" He snapped. "Can't you see that I am in the middle of something?"

"We need a lift to Egypt." Tristan said in a matter-of-fact tone, before Joey could make whatever remark he had been thinking of.

"Oh and what makes you think that I will lend you my jet?" Kaiba asked rhetorically, leaning back in his chair.

"Because I know how you are dying to duel me." Atem spoke up, intentionally playing on Kaiba's biggest weakness, his ego.

Kaiba sighed. "Yugi that isn't-"

"I'm not Yugi." Atem interrupted him.

"What?" Kaiba asked in a mystified voice.

"That's Yugi," nearly every one said at the same time, some even pointed towards the small boy that was standing next to Tea.

Kaiba's gaze returned to the taller of the two. "So you are…?"

"The Pharaoh, you remember him, right Kaiba? I mean all that happened in Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel and all that stuff. Plus he was the one that beat you back when you kidnapped Yugi's Grandpa." Joey said, not able to erase the grin that broke out on his face from watching Kaiba's expression darken from his last comment.

"Yes, yes, yes," Kaiba said in an annoyed voice.

"Alright, but I expect a duel by the end of this. This time we will see if you are able to defeat me." Kaiba demanded.

"Be at the airport tomorrow by mid-day or forget going to Egypt." He instructed in a clipped tone and ended the call.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Well that went better than I thought." Yugi said in a dry tone.

Everybody in the group nodded their agreement.

Quietly, Atem pulled Mahad to the side near the door that lead to Mana's room.

"Mahad, do you know of a spell that will suppress or decrease some of the pain that Mana is feeling to a more durable level?" The Pharaoh asked him.

"Well there is one, but it is only temporary and I'm not sure how long it will last. Though be warned, it will only be effective once. Pharaoh it surprises me that you are thinking of bringing Mana with us."

"I promised her that I wouldn't leave her behind, plus the sleeping spell only lasts a certain period of time and we can't leave her on her own."

"Yes that is true, but do you think that she has the energy for the journey? The spell that I will perform will be constantly draining her of her Ba."

Atem gave him a curious look.

"The less amount of Ba that she has the less pain she will feel. The spell is in effect from the moment she wakes up until she falls unconscious."

Atem nodded.

Mahad gave his old friend a squeeze on the shoulder.

"I'll do it tonight." And with that he walked back to Isis and began discussing the details of the next coming days.

A.M.A.M.A.M.A.M.A.M.A.M.A.M.A.M

The next day came and the tension in the car was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.

Mana was sitting next to Atem, staring out into the beautiful blue sky. Now that she could think without the constant distraction of feeling her heart being torn out of her chest, her mind kept drifting back to the meaning of the connection. If it was real and if the memories were gathering then… it could only… if she dared to hope… mean that…. he still loved her.

Mana's eyes turned toward Atem. Her thoughts were racing. Could it be that after all this time, after everything that happened, that she hadn't lost him?

Atem turned toward her, having felt her stare and smiled. Ever since she woke up that morning, there was a light in her eyes that he hadn't seen since he had entered the Afterlife.

As they pulled over near the parking lot of Kaiba's private hanger, Atem reached and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

The gang made its way to the jet, where its owner stood in the entrance with a scowl on his face.

"Nope, sorry, too many people."

"What are you talking about, rich boy?" Joey said staring at him in disbelief. Was Kaiba really going to back out?

"Wheeler, you do the math. There are ten of you and only seven empty seats."

Joey stared at his friends and then at Kaiba, but it was Tea that spoke up.

"Kaiba we are all going, no one is staying behind."

"Yeah, well good luck getting to Egypt without a plane."

"Kaiba, we had a deal!" Atem said in an irritated voice.

"Yes well, I prefer not crashing due to flying an overweight jet, Pharaoh." He said in a mocking voice

Yugi stared at him and then looked at his friends.

"Kaiba give us a few minutes."

"Well hurry up; the door closes in ten minutes and I still have things to do." And with that he turned around and walked into the plane.

"Guys," everybody turned to look at Yugi. "Kaiba is our best chance at getting to Egypt fast."

"Ah, come on Yug' we'll find another way." Tristan said in a relaxed tone.

"Yes well the spell that is helping Mana is only temporary and it isn't going to last too long, a week and half maximum. We don't have time to sit around and hope for a miracle to happen." Mahad added, looking at the Pharaoh.

Neither of the two wanted to see Mana is so much pain ever again.

"Well thank you, mister optimist." Joey stated sarcastically, though hating to admit that the Egyptian was mostly right. However, in the short amount of time he had come to know the strange energetic girl he did care about her enough to understand why they were in a rush.

"Ok, but who is staying back. Cause I sure as hell don't want to." Tea said, drawing the conversation back to topic.

"Well I am obviously going." Atem said, his gaze not leaving Mana's. He would do anything to protect her. It wasn't so much about his memories anymore, but about her and the damn binding.

"Mahad and I as well, it is our duty to protect the Pharaoh." Isis said, looking at the others and daring them to object.

"That leaves four seats," Kaiba called from the door. "Five minutes or none of this will matter." The last was said with a gloating smile. He was enjoying the discomfort that the little group was having.

"I'm going," a voice said from the back near the car. Bakura stared at the group. "I said I was here to make amends as well, and I am not leaving the only two people I have ever cared about to go on an unknown quest."

"You got to be kidding me!" Joey practically growled.

"You can't stop me and that is final." Bakura smirked. "Plus, you are going to need somebody that has experience breaking into temples, tombs and such."

"Count me in," someone piped up before the group now turned to the boy next to the thief king. "Somebody has to be there to keep you in line." He said the last to Bakura, giving him a firm look.

"So that leaves two," Tea murmured quietly, though Joey was able to hear her.

"Yep and I believe that those seats belong to me and Yugi." Joey said grabbing his suitcase and running toward the plane.

"What?" Mana yelled, stopping Joey in his tracks. "You must be crazy to think I am staying behind." She turned to Atem. "I told you I wasn't going to stay behind this time; anyway it is my glass necklace." She said the last part as an afterthought.

"What? Come on - if it weren't for a spell-"

"Joey!" Atem exclaimed, warning his friend to back off.

"-you wouldn't be standing here." Joey said in an incredulous voice. He looked around, hoping for some support, but he found none.

When he looked at the young magician, what he saw nearly made him cringe.

Off at the side Bakura was laughing, pitying the poor fool. He may be right that Mana wasn't at her strongest, but she was still a hell of a lot deadlier than he was in his best days and unfortunately for him he was about to experience the pain that both he and Atem were closely familiar with.

Mahad looked at Mana and instantly recognized the expression she wore.

"Mana," he said cautiously.

Atem heard Mahad's tone and turned to the mentioned girl. In that moment, a memory flooded his mind.

Him being pushed away by an invisible force, though it had felt like a punch in his gut. All his organs were screaming in pain, burning up from a non-existent fire. As his body touched the floor the pain vanished but the memory remained, and when he tried to push himself up his muscles screamed in protest. In his blurred vision he saw a feminine form walk toward him and as she drew closer he received a deadly glare and a very nasty, but informative warning.

Atem understood what he had done wrong and now Joey was going to find out the hard way. Atem met Bakura's pitying yet amused look and turned to look at Mana. He also understood why Mana had acted in such a manner. If he were in her shoes he would've done the same thing or worse.

With a quick gesture of her hands and two small words that only she knew, Mana cast the spell and directed it toward the blond haired boy.

Joey never saw it coming; one minute he was making his case for him to go and Mana to stay, and the next he was flying across the hanger.

Yugi, Tea and Tristan turned to stare at her. Their expression was a mixture of disbelief, fear, and shock. The three of them ran toward Joey and tried to help him stand up.

"I wouldn't help him stand up, unless you want to feel searing pain course through your veins!" Bakura yelled out.

The three of them instantly backed away.

Tea turned, outraged, and glared at Mana.

"What the hell was that? You could have killed him!" She yelled to the other girl.

Mana ignored Tea and picked up her bag. With a dark look in her eyes, she walked over to where Joey lay.

"Never belittle me. You have no idea what I am capable of and you have no right to tell me what I can or can't do." With that she walked up into the plane.

Kaiba had only seen the end of what had happened, and as the girl passed him he couldn't help but wonder what scars she was hiding.

Tea turned her stare at the other Egyptians. None of them seemed surprised by what had happened.

Bakura picked up his duffle and made his way into the plane. When he passed the group he gave them a pitying look.

"I should have warned you. She's done that to me a few times and if memory serves she even did it to Atem once. The effects aren't permanent, you should be fine in a few minutes; the pain you are feeling is mostly psychological."

Isis and Mahad passed them after Bakura and without a word they knelt down and looked the boy over.

"You must forgive Mana, she didn't have an easy childhood before she came to the palace. The pain should be gone by now. The quicker you stand up the faster the spell will leave your body."

Joey turned to look at Mahad.

"You're speaking from experience," he grunted.

Mahad didn't answer, but with a small smile and a slight nod they stood up and left them.

Atem walked over to them with a blank expression and offered him his hand.

Joey looked at him but with a small shrug he let Atem help him up.

"Dang, girl packs a punch." He said, staring off in some general direction.

"I know," Atem said smiling as he thought of Mana.

Tea turned to him.

"Atem, you can't tell me that you approve of her actions."

He gave her an understanding look.

"Tea, Mana has always had a fire inside of her. She has always been confident about who she is and has never tolerated shit from anybody. No matter who that person is."

"That still isn't an excuse to throw somebody across the room and cause that person pain."

Atem shrugged.

"Well I believe I must say good-bye. It was great seeing all of you again, but as Mahad said earlier time isn't on our side."

As he turned and headed up the stairs Joey called out to him.

"Will we see you before you head back into the Afterlife?"

"Yes, we still don't know how to create the portal back to that world."

"Wait Atem," Yugi called out to him. "I told you that I was going with you."

"Yugi-"

"No we stick together that's how it's always been." And he turned to his friends. "Guys…."

"Don't worry about it Yug we understand go. You know that we are always with you no matter what." Joey said hugging his best friend.

"Thanks Joey," he said before he quickly ran and caught up with the Pharaoh, wondering what they may encounter along the way. With a quick last wave to his friends, he entered the plane.

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**There you go guys hoped you enjoyed it or even if you didn't REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW! **

**Honestly sometimes I get the feeling you don't even read the author's notes.**


	21. What Happened

**Hey all you people, hey all you people….**

**Here is the next chapter XXI, some serious back story to come, you have been warned.**

**Please be ever nice to tell me what you think plus if this is all making sense.**

**Thank you all who have reviewed, NanohaXFateAsuna, AmandaSpardaBVB, Chibi-Aibou-Kuriboh and Aqua girl 007 ****.**

**I do not own YUGIOH, Takahashi is the real genius!**

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**Atem POV**

As the plane leveled out, Kaiba looked at me.

"Why are you staring Kaiba?"

He grunted. "Nothing really, but I have to wonder who your little friend back there is."

I knew he was referring to Mana.

"Stay away from her!" I growled.

Kaiba chuckled. "Do not worry, _Pharaoh, _I'm just asking because of what she did to Wheeler."

I glared at Kaiba and his smirked just widened. "Protective are you?"

My glare deepened, amusing Kaiba even more.

I stood up; the temptation to hit him was too great, and went to where Mana was sitting.

"Are you ok?" I asked her.

She had her eyes closed. Mana smiled, but didn't open her eyes.

"I'm really starting to get tired of that question, Atem." I smiled. "To answer your question, though, I'm alright."

"You used a lot of Ba back there."

Mana opened her eyes and looked at me. "Just ask me what you want to know, Atem."

I looked at her and couldn't keep the smile from my face. She could read me so easily, yet here she was a mystery to me.

"What was that back there, Mana?"

She sighed and closed her eyes, nodding."Tell me, what do remember about my past before I came to the palace."

I frowned."Not much Mana, only that it left its mark on you. I'm sorry."

Mana straighten her posture and traced my jaw with her hand.

"No Atem," she shook her head. "I just never told you, it has always been my most guarded secret."

I nodded understanding, but it still hurt to know that she didn't fully trust me.

I subconsciously pulled my face away from her hand.

Mana lost her smile.

"Atem, it's a long story. You want to hear it?"

"Mana I-"

"I trust you Atem, I always have, never doubt that. It's my memories that I fear." She said seriously. "Plus, I guess we have time to kill."

I gave her a small smile. I was still kneeling next to her chair. She looked at me and unbuckled her seatbelt. Mana had rapidly gotten used to modern concepts. She stood up and sat across from me.

I quickly looked around the cabin. Yugi and Ryou were sleeping, and Mahad and Isis were making a scene of ignoring us, Kaiba was busy on his computer. However, Bakura kept looking over at us. I still couldn't believe that we used to be friends.

Mana grabbed my hand and stared at it.

"I came to the palace when I was five, and nearly gave you a heart attack the first time we met." I couldn't help but smile replaying that day in my head.

"But before that I lived in a small village, at the border of lower Egypt. My parents were killed days after I was born. The people believed that they were cursed for being able to call forth the dark power. Or so my aunt told me, she could do it too you know. Her Ka was the Dark Witch of the Forest. She kept her powers a secret until mine started to manifest. Can you imagine the daughter of two Shadow Callers? The level of my magic could rival that of the Pharaoh, as legend has it."

I stared at her confused.

"Mana, Shadow Callers, you're not making much sense."

She chuckled. I noticed she was so lost in her mind that she wasn't aware of what she was saying. All she did was hold my hand and trace small circles on it.

"Mana!"

She shook her head and looked me in the eyes.

"Shadow Callers are people like you and me and Mahad and Bakura, we have a connection to the shadows. We have magic, and just how there was a village of thieves, there was a village of Shadow Callers. My parents were from said village though they had to run away. It was prohibited for a Caller to marry another Caller. The powers of their offspring would be unspeakable. My mother's sister went with them.

"They settled down in a tiny village and stopped practicing, but when my mother was near her due date the combination of her dormant powers and mine went haywire, and they were exposed. My aunt took me from their house hours after I was born, denying any relationship to them and kept me hidden.

"Though when I reached five summers of age, the villagers came through our door and demanded the demon we were harboring. My aunt pretended to not know what they were taking about, so they took us both. As they dragged us out of the house, she called forth her Ka, and the villagers cut her throat.

"They hung me on a wooden trunk afterwards." She closed her eyes and I saw pain write itself into her face. I pulled my hand free from hers, though before she could open her eyes. I pulled her toward me and held her against my chest, comforting her.

In a small voice, she continued, "They flogged me, insulted me, called me Seker'sspawn, and starved me. I lasted three solar cycles like that, until I lost control. A burst of dark energy ripped through my body, burned the ropes and knocked half the village people unconscious. I didn't think, Atem, I just ran and left the only place I knew as home far behind me."

She looked up at me, tears shinning in her eyes. "Your mother found me two solar cycles later. I was half crazed by that time, I'd stolen a fruit off a vender in a passing village and that had been all I had eaten. I also became terrified of my powers and I couldn't control them because of the mental scars I carry. Your mother locked me up in a room, ordering me food and water until I regained some sort of sanity. I escaped on the second week and that's when I met you." She said the last part with a smile.

"Mana if I had known..."

She shook her head.

"Nobody knows, I never told your mother, nor father, nor any of the Priests. Only you know now."

I looked at the girl in my arms and wondered; how could she maintain the level of optimism, spunky energy, and spirited attitude after what she lived through?

"You're amazing," I murmured.

She laughed, but before she could answered Kaiba called out.

"Hey lovebirds, get in your seats we're about to land."

I sent the prick a glare, but nodded. I stood up and with a smile I left Mana to find my seat. We would continue this when we could get some privacy.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

When we exited the plane a burst of the shining sun blinded me. Mana walked next to me. She smiled.

"Finally we are home, how I have missed the heat."

I laughed. Yugi, Ryou and Kaiba were already sweating.

Kaiba looked at Mana in disbelief. "How can you stand this heat?"

Mana shrugged and grabbed my hand. "I grew up in it."

Yugi shook his head and walked toward us. Isis and Mahad were standing next to me, looking at everyone and everything.

"Atem, Marik and Ishizu will be at the entrance. They'll take us to the hotel and tomorrow we will begin the search."

I nodded agreeing with him. Mana needed to rest for the spell to be active and they were all jet lagged in general.

Yugi turned back to look at Isis; he had a thoughtful expression.

"What's up, Yugi?"

He smiled. "I'm just trying to picture Marik, Odion, and Ishizu's reaction when they see Isis." I laughed. "Or when we tell them who Mahad and Mana are, and when they see the Thief King."

"I guess seeing me won't be the biggest surprise."

Yugi nodded.

I looked back and saw Bakura; he was hanging near the rear of our little group.

Mana followed my gaze and sighed. "Prince-"

"I can't Mana."

She nodded."I understand you feel betrayed, but he used to be our friend once."

I sighed.

As we exited the airport, I spotted Ishizu and Odion.

"Hello."

They turned to me in surprise.

"Pharaoh?" Ishizu asked.

I nodded.

They both bowed. The rest of the group stood behind me.

"Ishizu, Odion there is no need for that."

They lifted their heads and looked at me, instantly spotting Yugi.

"I see you have your own body." Ishizu stated.

"Yes, but you can imagine that it came with a price."

The silence stretched between us. Yugi looked at me and chuckled.

He stepped forward and greeted them.

Minutes later Marik appeared with a car.

"Holy Gods!" He said when he saw us.

"Good to see you too, Marik." I greeted him sarcastically.

Marik looked at the people around me, they still hadn't noticed Ishizu.

"So who are all these people and where are Wheeler, Taylor, and Gardner?"

I smiled.

"Marik this is Mana, Mahad, and Isis." As I pointed to Isis ,the other three Egyptian's eyes widened.

"What the hell?!"

Isis smiled; I guess that she saw this coming.

"It's nice to meet you all."

Mahad stayed quiet, observing everyone's reaction.

"Why does she look like my sister, Pharaoh?"

"Your bloodline stems from mine, just as Yugi's stems from Atem and Seto's."

Kaiba looked at the woman.

"What?!" Yugi, Mahad, Kaiba, and I exclaimed.

Mana only smiled.

I looked at Mana; I knew that it was impossible.

"Mana?"

She shook her head; a sorrow filled look crossed her eyes.

"No Atem."

I noticed that people were staring at us. I cleared my throat.

"We can discuss this when we get to the hotel, we are drawing a crowd."

Everybody turned to me and nodded.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

When we arrived at the hotel, everybody was still silent.

Isis sat down on a chair near the window. She waited for the rest of us to settle down before she began.

"The Tombkeepers originated from my blood line. I suspect that is the reason that the Millennium Necklace was passed down from generation to generation; until it went to you, Ishizu."

The woman in question nodded. I could only imagine what she was thinking seeing Isis.

Marik stared at Isis, anger boiling in his eyes.

"Why did you agree to such a task?" He demanded.

"Brother!" Ishizu scolded him.

Isis stopped her, but frowned at her descendant.

"I understand your anger, but Pharaoh Seto asked this from me. We knew that the tomb had to be protected, if not our Pharaoh's sacrifice would have been in vain."

Isis turned to Mana.

"This happened six lunar cycles after your death. We decided that anybody could enter the Pharaoh's tomb after we were gone and destroy the memory tablet. I volunteered, and so when the underground living quarters were built, my son and I moved there."

"Wait you had a son?"

Isis nodded.

"She gave birth to him 5 lunar cycles after the battle with Zorc."

Mahad's stare hardened, but I could see a smile underneath.

I looked at my old friends and smirked, Mana looked at me and burst out laughing. I followed.

Bakura looked at us and in a hushed tone asked. "What's so funny?"

"We were right!" Mana answered.

"So you condemned your family?!" Marik burst out. "You're the reason that I was branded and lived my life secluded from the rest of the world?!"

Isis shook her head. "No, that wasn't how it was supposed to be."

"What do you mean?!"

"Marik enough," Ishizu hissed. Her brother only ignored her.

"Yes, you were supposed to live with your family until you became of age, then you could decide if you wanted to live your life dedicated to the Keepers or just go. It was to be voluntary."

"But I received the marks at the age of ten!"

Mana shrugged and answered in a calm tone.

"Back in our time, one was of age at ten. Prince took the vows on his tenth summer and I began my apprenticeship a year later."

Mahad groaned. "Please don't remind me. Why I ever agreed I will never understand."

Mana turned to him and stuck out her tongue.

Marik stared at them. He was at a loss. What had changed during his family history that the traditions had been altered. I could see the question shine through his eyes.

Isis stood up and walked over to him.

"I'm sorry you suffered, but you did your ancestors proud by completing their lives' work." Isis turned to Ishizu and nodded. "You as well."

Ishizu went to her brother and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ms. Isis."

Marik looked up and stared at me.

"So what are you doing back?" He asked.

"It's a long story."

"We've got nothing better to do and as Isis said it is our family's duty to help."

"Marik, you don't owe me anything, this isn't your fight anymore. You have your own life to live now."

Marik shrugged. "Maybe, but you are going to need a guide around Egypt that knows the old myths. Egypt isn't what all of you remember. Plus, I do owe you."

I sighed, he was right.

I looked at Mana, her eyes were half closed.

"Sleep; I'll wake you up when we have to leave."

She nodded and went to her room. Yugi and Ryou followed her, they already knew the story.

Odion turned to Bakura.

"And you are?"

The thief grinned.

"The Thief King at your service." He said with a mocking bow.

The others' stares became hostile.

"C'mon I'll explain everything."

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**There you have it. Seen you soon and please REVIEW!**


	22. Having Some Fun

**Well, yeppie a chap before schools starts. I know. I know I didn't update as often as I would have liked, but hey…**

**So on the happy side I would like to thank SkyBlueXXX for favoriting and following, and xxHinaAngelxx for favoriting. Plus thank you Aqua girl 007, Chibi-Aibou-Kuiboh, NanohaXFateXAsuna and SkyBlueX for reviewing.**

**I don't own Yugioh!**

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**Mana's POV**

The next day I woke up with a slight headache, but it was easy to ignore. As I made my way through the rooms, I saw that I wasn't the only one awake.

"Where's Bakura?"

"Hey, shouldn't you be sleeping?" A voice sarcastically asked me.

I smiled. "I could say the same about you."

He chuckled. "Mana, I don't trust these people to not stab me in the back the minute I close my eyes."

My expression fell; for a few minutes I had forgotten that things weren't as they used to be and that my life was more complicated than ever.

"Hey," I felt a figure lift my chin. "We will find it."

"That's not it," I said in a quiet voice.

"Then what is it?" He asked.

Years back he had been my confidant whenever I had had a problem or needed somebody to talk about my relationship with Atem. I always went to him. Though, he didn't know my darkest secret. That was only Atem.

I smiled remembering that night. I prayed to Hathor that my face wasn't blazing red.

"I worry that things will never be how they used to be, you know? I have changed since that time and so has he. Yet, I feel close to him and this softer side that he has now. It's wonderful that he can show compassion. Its new and it feels like I getting to know him again, like I'm…"

"…like you're falling for him all over again."

I nodded slowly, blushing. "It's also exciting…"

"But…?"

"But, I'm afraid he won't like the person I have become." I said in a small voice.

Bakura let out a sigh. "Mana, if he ever truly loved you, he will."

I gave him a half grin, not really believing him.

I heard him sigh again; but when I finally looked up, he was grinning.

"Hey you wanna go and wake these people up." Bakura asked mischievously.

I smiled. "Sure, but I get to wake up Atem and your look alike."

"Why do you want to wake up Ryou?"

"I've always wanted to see you surprised and shocked. He might be the closest I ever get to seeing the real thing." I said as if it was the most logical explanation.

"Alright, so the rules are simple, the one who wakes up the most people wins!"

I nodded, but I wanted this to be real interesting.

"One thing; no magic."

He nodded, but I could see him frown.

Without another word, I turned around and headed to Ryou and Yugi's room. I decided that it would be best to leave Atem for last. He was a really heavy sleeper.

I crept into the room and stared at the boys. They looked so peaceful. I was going to enjoy this.

I tip-toed towards Ryou's bed and quickly snatched one of the pillows out from under him, he barely seemed to notice. With a quick hand, I hit him with it. It was around the fourth hit that he woke up, trying to sit up straight and grab the pillow out of my hand. When he was about to talk, I threw the pillow away and covered his mouth with my hand.

"Talk and you'll regret it."

The poor boy must have seen something in my eyes that made him pause. I shook my head and pointed towards Yugi.

"I'll explain after I wake him up." I whispered.

Ryou nodded.

I smiled and jumped on top of his bed. I quickly looked at the distance between the beds and where Yugi was. I had to make sure I didn't land on him or this would really hurt. Not thinking twice about it, I jumped. I heard Ryou gasp when he realized what I was doing.

I landed on the half that the boy wasn't on, but from the force of impact Yugi bounced. This woke him up, and he ended up landing on the floor.

Perfect two down, though now I was going to have to explain and hope that they would understand.

Yugi groaned and I jumped down from the bed landing next to him, offering my hand.

He took it, and I saw him rubbing his back. "Ouch!"

Ryou stood up and came over to us.

"What was that for?"

I smiled. "Bakura and I are playing a game."

As I said that, we heard two screams come from the room next to us. Yugi jumped and headed toward the door

"Don't - that must have been Bakura." I tried to warn him.

Yugi turned to me, frowning. "Why are you two doing this?"

I shrugged. "It's late and well why not make a game out of it?"

"Has anybody woken up Atem yet?"

I shook my head. "He is too heavy of a sleeper. I'm saving him for last."

Yugi nodded.

"You two can go outside to the living room, but you have to wait for the other to come out and you have to stay quiet." I warned them.

They nodded.

I began to make my way to the door when I remembered.

"Yugi, who was in the room next door?"

He smiled. "Kaiba and Mahad."

Laughing, I went to the room across from theirs and smiled. Isis and Ishizu were here and that meant that Bakura was going to try to wake up Marik and Odion. He was so dead. I neared Isis, but before I could even touch her. Her necklace emitted a bright light and she woke up. Isis looked at me and I gave her a sheepish smile.

"Would you have really done that?"

I looked at her confused. She must have seen the way I woke her and that had to startle her out of her dreams.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She sighed, but nodded towards Ishizu, who was starting to stir.

"Just shake her shoulder, she isn't that heavy of a sleeper."

I snickered and did just that. Ishizu's eye popped open and she gave me a frightened looked. She turned toward Isis.

"She's playing a game with Bakura and we are the unfortunate victims of their boredom." Isis explained.

The other woman nodded and narrowed her eyes at me, but I smiled. What could I say? It was common of me to do pranks whenever I got bored. You could just ask the palace guards.

I decided to leave the room before Isis decided to give me a lecture about something.

I sighed. It was time to go wake him up.

As I passed what I believed to be Marik's room, I heard a thud against the door. Laughing, I opened the door to mine and Atem's room. He was lying face up and his sheets only covered half his torso. I stood there and admired him. It had been so long ago that you would have found me lying on top of his chest.

I walked toward him and shook his shoulder lightly, but that only made him groan. I pulled the pillow right out from under him. His head fell with a soft thump on the bed.

I sighed. What did he do, conjure up a sleeping spell?

I hit him on the chest with the pillow, but that didn't do anything. I thought of jumping on the bed like I did to Yugi, but then I remembered what happened last time. I knelt down by the bed and began to start flicking his ear, thinking if I should go get a glass of water. Though, I quickly discarded that option. It brought too many memories.

As I began to get more frustrated, he turned his head toward me and covered his ear with the bed. I groaned.

I stared at his face. Though, the years had passed he hadn't aged and I knew that he would always look like this. He would always have that strong jaw and high cheek bones. I looked at him and noticed that even in his sleep he didn't relax. His eyebrows were slightly drawn together, creating a small wrinkle between them. I tried to smooth it out with my thumb, but when I touched him his face visibly relaxed.

I smiled, though as I looked at him my eyes kept drifting down to his lips, which I had kissed a hundred times before. I remembered when I first kissed him. I had been so surprise at how soft they were compared to the rest of his hard body.

My hand slid down and touched his cheek.

I didn't know how long I stayed like that, until an idea popped into my head. Yet, I tried to push it back. There was no way I could do that, but the more I thought about it, the more my mind kept getting rid of excuses.

It wasn't like I had never done it before and it would be quick. 'It would only last long enough for him to be shaken awake from the sudden contact.' a small voice kept whispering in my mind.

I, unfortunately, slowly started to listen to it, and I found that my head was leaning toward him. When I was but a hair's width away from him, I felt my heart thumping as if I was a humming bird. I couldn't believe I was going to do this.

I took in a deep breath and lightly pressed my lips against his. When my lips touched his, I forgot everything, the game, the constant stream of pain in my veins, and the fact that we had to leave soon.

In the instant that I pecked him, I felt Atem tense up, and saw his eyes spring open. I could easily read the shock in them, as I began to pull back. Atem shot out his hand and cupped my cheek, stopping me from getting away.

My eyes widened when I felt his lips move against mine. This wasn't just a peck anymore, he was kissing me and I found myself kissing him back. My eyes closed and I sighed. Atem took complete advantage, his tongue slipping inside my mouth.

I, unknowingly, climbed onto his bed and straddled his waist.

Atem's hand drifted from my cheek to tangle inside my hair, pulling me closer to him.

As we kissed, I lost track of time and completely forgot that we had company on the other side of the door.

Atem slowly sat up, forcing me to slide down. Though, I ended up sitting on his lap. He was pressing me closer to him, and I never wanted to let go. He was my home, my heaven and I had been without him for too long.

I began to trace the plains of his chest, making him moan. As my hand drifted, I barely heard the door open and the small intake of breath. Yet, it was enough to break the spell.

Atem and I broke apart and turned to the person who interrupted us.

Yugi stood there with a shocked expression, looking between me and Atem. After a few seconds of awkward silence his face turned as red as a tomato.

"I-I'm…so-sorry," he stuttered, looking down at the floor.

I began to lift myself off Atem's lap, but was detained by him. His grip on my waist tightened, keeping me in place.

I look at him with a silent question, though he wouldn't meet my eyes. I sat back down and that's when I felt it. I had to stifle a laugh that ended up sounding like I was choking. If I were to stand up, Yugi would see something that would be really humiliating and awkward.

Atem snapped his eyes at me and glared. He didn't find this situation funny. I could only smile at him.

He cleared his throat. "Yugi, we'll be out in just a few minutes."

The poor boy nodded, turned, and ran somewhere; his face couldn't get redder.

As the door closed behind him, I heard Bakura laughing. "Told you that it was better to leave them alone." The idiot!

I felt Atem's glare on me, and I looked into his crimson eyes.

"I don't find this funny!" He growled, though he didn't loosen his grip from my waist.

I snickered. "I know!"

He tilted his head. "Why did you do it?"

I blinked. I could tell him it was part of a game, but that wouldn't be the complete truth. I could have just dumped a glass of water on top of him.

"Because I wanted to," I said simply. I knew that it was the truth.

Atem stared into my eyes, and I could feel that he wanted to pull me against him, but for reasons I couldn't understand he let me go.

I stood up and noticed that my legs were wobbling. I had to force them to stay still.

"Why the change Mana?" He asked sharply, turning away from me and sitting at the edge of the bed. He was hiding himself from me.

"I don't understand."

He didn't turn around but I saw the tension in his shoulders.

"You have been spending all your time with Bakura, ignoring me these past couple of weeks. Not showing a simple emotion and whenever I want to talk to you, you ignore the question or stand up and leave. Even after the whole Tea mess you didn't want to explain anything to me. Yet, here you are kissing me as if everything is ok!"

I looked down at the floor. He was right and I knew it; I had been acting as if I had a right to act as a jealous girlfriend, while I was the one that kept pushing him away.

I lowered my head; my hair fell around my face hiding it.

"I'm sorry," I said in small voice, though Atem didn't turn. He was reaching for a pair of jeans that rested on a nearby chair.

"I'm sorry," I repeated a little stronger, but continued looking at the floor. "I wish I could give you what you want. I know I've been selfish and you have every right to be angry with me. Yet, I'm scared Atem… I know that I have no right, but I can't bear to lose you. Nevertheless, I've been the one giving you reasons to leave me." I crawled onto the bed and sat behind him placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Why can't you tell me?"

I sighed, trying not to cry. "Because it has to be pure Atem, and I couldn't live with myself if I ended up influencing you. Though, mostly I want you to have a choice so it doesn't feel like you have a responsibility."

He turned to me. Atem was already half dressed, though I could still see the hard muscle that was his chest and stomach.

"Mana whatever it is, I would never feel that way."

I smiled sadly at him and looked down at the glass ring.

"Atem, when you remember what this ring represents, I promise that I'll tell you everything no matter if we have found the necklace or not." I looked up at him and could see him frowning. I knew it wasn't what he wanted to hear, but I was going to have to stop being selfish. I might want him back, but I wasn't going to force him to feel the same way about me. "Just remember, Prince, I have never stopped and my heart is still yours, even if you don't want it."

I turned to leave; I couldn't keep looking at him or I would end up crying.

As I got to the opposite edge of the bed, Atem reached out and grabbed my hand giving it a slight squeeze. He let me go and quickly grabbed a black shirt off the floor. I stared at him with confusion, but stood up and headed to the door. As we exited the room, Bakura was smiling at us.

"Well if it isn't the Queen and King. How nice of you to get out of your room."

I scowled at Bakura. Nobody in the room knew how true that comment was, so it didn't really matter. They just passed it off as his normal teasing.

I smirked at the thief. "So, I guess I win."

The idiot sighed. "Yes."

I turned to Mahad, who was looking at us with curiosity. I could guess that he had seen Yugi sprint out of the room. Though, what got my attention was the fact that his hair was dripping wet and Kaiba was in the same state.

"Mahad, why are you wet?"

Mahad glared at Bakura and so did Kaiba.

"The Thief King decided to wake us up by nearly drowning us."

I chuckled, I knew that Bakura would take complete advantage. Atem was shaking from silent laughter. He liked to torture Mahad as much as I did; and I could only imagine that he and Kaiba didn't have the easiest of relationships, considering their past.

Ryou looked at me. "What did you win?"

I smiled and Bakura groaned.

"Bakura explain," I ordered.

He glared at me but did as told. He really didn't have a choice.

"She won the usual."

Ryou looked confused. "Bakura elaborate!"

Atem was laughing he had to have remembered by now what the punishment normally was for the loser.

"Fine," he growled, "since we all had what we could ever desire, we decided that the loser had to be the winner's slave for a total of 48 hours. It made the games more interesting."

Mahad was looking at me and Atem as if he didn't know us.

"Were you two ever his slave?" He pointed at Bakura.

Atem and I nodded.

Kaiba I could see was getting bored as well as Marik.

"Well since you two went to the trouble of waking all of us up, then I suggest we get going. Egypt is a big place and who knows where one small necklace is buried." Marik said in an annoyed voice.

We all nodded and exited the room. We left everything except what we really needed. I knew the plan was that Ishizu and Odion were to stay in the city and do research on anything that could pin point the location. However, I was afraid of what they mind find. Who knew how Seto had told my story and if the truth ever really came out? I discerned that the Gods had their way all the time and I understood that my secret with Atem was never supposed to be that.

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**So there you go and NanohaXFateXAsuna to answer your question, that you left in the other fic, there was a small mention about it, but be warn that when their relationship comes to light that going to be some of importance. Especially, taking into account how Ancient Egyptian marriages were done in that time.**

**Please Review, especially if you enjoyed and even more if you didn't! **


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